Cheshire law firm Rowlinsons Solicitors has officially opened its new office in Knutsford, expanding the firm’s reach with legal services including residential and commercial property, family law and private client matters.
The expansion follows Rowlinsons’ recent success at the British Conveyancing Awards 2026, where it was named Conveyancing Firm of the Year North. The company’s director and head of property, Tom Parkinson, was named Partner of the Year.
Parkinson said of the new office: “The opening of the Knutsford office comes at an exciting time for Rowlinsons and particularly for our property team.
“Our success at the British Conveyancing Awards was a huge endorsement of the work being done across the firm, but we are not standing still. The new office gives us a platform to grow further, support more clients and continue investing in the people, systems and service standards that make Rowlinsons different.”
Gardner Leader has expanded its Real Estate team with the appointment of partners Charlotte Botham and Belinda Sinnott, in what the firm says is a response to growing demand for specialist real estate expertise across the Thames Valley and South East.
The new hires form part of the firm’s continued growth strategy, which has seen Gardner Leader expand into Swindon and Oxford and increase its headcount by over 50% to more than 200 people over the last five years.
Sinnott joins from Gateley Legal, where she was a legal director, and brings nearly 20 years’ experience specialising in residential development. She has extensive experience advising housebuilders, property developers, landowners and land traders through complex transactions and projects.
Botham joins with nearly 20 years’ experience across international, City and regional firms, most recently as head of property at Horsey Lightly.
Greg Humphreys, partner and head of the Real Estate team, said: “The appointments of Charlotte and Belinda mark an important step in the continued growth of our Real Estate team. Both bring a depth of experience and sector knowledge that will be of real benefit to our clients.
“Their arrival also supports our continued investment in the team, where we are seeing increasing demand for specialist real estate expertise from businesses, developers and investors across the wider South East and beyond.”
Setfords had doubles its London office space as it expands its technology team.
The platform-based law firm has acquired two additional floors at its Chancery Lane location, doubling its London footprint to approximately 12,000 sq ft.
Setfords said the expansion was driven by two areas of growth: increasing demand from its self-employed lawyers for space to serve a growing client base in the city, and the rapid expansion of Setfords Technology Solutions Ltd (STSL), its standalone technology business.
The expanded London office will play a central role in the firm’s strategy to attract technology talent to STSL. Established last year, the subsidiary has already grown to around 30 people as Setfords increases its investment in developing technology solutions.
Chris Setford, co-CEO of Setfords, said: “Ten years ago, we opened our London office because we could see the opportunity to build a much bigger commercial legal business in the capital. Since then, Setfords has grown from around 160 lawyers to more than 650, and London has become an increasingly important part of that growth.
“What is different today is that we are not just building a bigger law firm, we are building a vertically integrated technology and data business too. STSL has grown rapidly and we know London will play an important role in attracting the tech talent we’re going to continue to need.”
Conveyancing distributor Conveybuddy has marked its two-year anniversary by revealing significant growth in the number of brokers and advisory firms using its platform, alongside an 88% year-on-year increase in overall instruction levels.
Launched in September 2024, the business now has 4,200 registered mortgage brokers, up from 2,400 at the end of its first year and representing a 75% increase over the last 12 months.
The number of individual broker companies instructing Conveybuddy has also increased from 580 at the end of year one to 1,030 at the end of year two – a rise of almost 78%.
Instruction levels have continued to grow across all areas of the business proposition. Comparing Q2 2026 with the same quarter in 2025, overall instructions increased by 88%, with transactional instructions up 86%, remortgage instructions up 83% and survey instructions increasing by 123%.
When the business launched, it estimated around 52% of instructions were handled by law firms fully integrated with the Conveybuddy platform. That figure is now close to 90%.
Harpal Singh, CEO at Conveybuddy, said: “Two years has gone incredibly quickly, and while we’re obviously very pleased with the growth we’ve achieved, the most important thing for us is what sits behind those numbers and why increasing numbers of advisers are choosing to use us.
“We’ve always tried to keep the proposition straightforward. Brokers and their clients want value for money, they want to know what they are going to pay from the outset without additional fees appearing later, and they want proper service and support when they need it. Those principles were important when we launched and, judging by the feedback we receive from brokers, they are even more important today.”
