In this month’s TSR Legal Meets, Hannah Williams spoke to Matthew Darwell, Talent Attraction Partner at Movera about the firm’s move into Wales.
Matthew explains the commitment to making the conveyancing and home-moving experience better for all those involved – from employee benefits to workloads, DEI initiatives and training academies – and continued growth across the brands.
Q: What motivated the decision to expand into Wales through the new Cardiff office, and how does this align with the firm’s broader strategy?
A: The new office marks a significant step in Movera’s strategic growth and commitment to serving clients across both Wales and the South West. It is expected to create up to 100 new roles over the next year.
This investment in the new Cardiff office aligns with our broader strategy to become one of the UK’s leading providers of conveyancing services.
We are not just growing in numbers but also investing in the training and development of our people to ensure we deliver the highest standards of service. Our goal is to create a workplace where excellence in customer service is at the heart of everything we do.
Q: What key objectives do you have for the Cardiff office in 2025?
A: One of our key objectives for 2025 is overall growth within the Movera group.
The new office supports our commitment to attracting top talent, providing outstanding opportunities for career growth, and delivering exceptional service for our clients.
The expansion into Cardiff reflects our mission to deliver exceptional property legal services and innovative solutions for clients navigating the home-moving journey. We already have offices in Stockport and Leeds.
Both have become a hub for talented property professionals and the Cardiff office will follow the same model.
We support both B2B and B2C clients with a wide range of products and partnerships, ensuring the highest level of service. Our market-leading proposition prioritises our clients’ objectives, delivering tailored solutions that truly meet their needs.
Q: What do you believe distinguishes Movera from other leading law firms?
A: Very simply put; it’s our innovative combination of people and technology. People are our greatest asset, and we underpin their capabilities with market leading technology.
We set out to make home moving better for our People, Partners and Clients with experiences that are digital when they can be and personal when they need to be.
We are on a journey and making a difference.
Q: What do you find most rewarding about working at Movera?
A: The shared vision that genuinely resonates from the top down. I’ve never had the fortune to be part of a business with such an accessible CEO in Nick Hale and an Exec team who value communication and visibility of strategic direction.
Nick, our CEO, hosts an all hands call with live updates from the business and it’s leaders with an interactive Q&A.
One area I’m particularly proud of is how we foster a culture of growth through internal mobility.
We offer our team members opportunities to explore and develop their skills, enabling them to contribute value to the business while advancing their own career aspirations in diverse and meaningful ways.
Q: How does Movera foster professional development while promoting a healthy work-life balance for its employees?
A: We have a very competitive benefits and rewards structure that includes full flexibility and hybrid working. I myself have a young daughter and being part of a forward thinking business like this gives me the opportunity to productively and proactively balance my career and home life.
Alongside this, we were first to the market to launch a training academy run by our award winning L&D team.
The academy offers our new employees an in-depth opportunity for learning every aspect of their new role. It also supports upskilling our existing employees, supporting their personal development, growth and longer term career goals
This gives us the opportunity to tackle the challenges head-on in the candidate tough market and offer outstanding careers to ambitious people.
Q: What have been the biggest successes for the firm in the last five years and what do residential property teams and firms need to focus on to support employees, and also clients in 2025?
A: Firstly, we have to look back at the house moving industry as a whole and the volatility it has seen over recent years.
Given the nature of how demanding the sector was it is no surprise that working environments and employees job satisfaction took a huge hit, resulting in a tangible exit of skills and negative perceptions across the legal sector.
We recognised this and take ownership, that alongside other firms we fell short of providing a best in class experience for our people.
What now sets us apart in the employment market is how we’ve addressed these areas and created an amazing culture that’s people led, empowering and progressive in our approach.
Our mid-year engagement survey shows that 74% of respondents are excited to grow with us over the next few years! This represents a YOY increase, showing our commitment to always be better.
We re-branded to Movera in 2023 with subsequent launching of new brands/partnerships; Collaborative Conveyancing and standing up our new direct to consumer proposition: On Point.
2025 is a year where we can build on our success and grow stronger than ever. We are increasingly being recognised as leading the market, on merit with high quality experiences delivered consistently across all our brands and teams.
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