Law firm Foot Anstey has acquired an intellectual property (IP) team to open its first office in the North of England.
The South West-based organisation, which has offices in Plymouth, Bristol, Exeter, London, Southampton, Taunton and Truro has expanded its reach with the acquisition of Clarke Wilmott's intellectual property team of four staff, including partner Roy Crozier.
Foot Anstey's own (IP) team is headed up by partner Paul Cox. The firm acts for many national and international clients, such as Wise Payments, who they advised on their worldwide rebrand. In August last year Foot Anstey announced record annual turnover and alongside the appointment of a director at professional services giant PwC as its new finance boss.
The company said its new team will remain Manchester-based, operating from the Tootal buildings.
Martin Hirst, managing partner at Foot Anstey commented: "This is an exciting time to be welcoming Roy and his team to the firm to strengthen our IP offering to clients in one of our focus sectors. Not only is this acquisition a strong strategic for for us, but it is our first hub based outside of the South and South West of England, which presents many opportunities."
Mr Crozier added: "My team and I are very excited to be joining Foot Anstey's IP team and be part of the firm's next stage of growth. Paul and I have previously trained and worked together, and I know that the merging of the two practices will be a great success."
Clarke Willmott was founded in Somerset, in 1888 and is now headquartered in Birmingham. It also has offices in Bristol, Taunton, Cardiff, London, Manchester and Southampton.
In November 2022 the firm appointed a new chief executive. Peter Swinburn was elected by the company's partners and will take up the top job on May 1 this year. He is taking over from Stephen Rosser, who is stepping down after 13 years in the role.
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