Foot Anstey's recent experience of collaboration in the South West has been entirely positive. In fact, the only surprise was just how much appetite there is out there for the right kind of information sharing.
We’ve been busy in this regard. Seminars on crisis management were so popular we had to repeat them, we hosted technology roundtables with leading academics and businesses and led City Conversations with the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce.
The events we hosted with the CBI stand out as they offered businesses in the region the chance to air Brexit-related challenges openly in a confidential, friendly environment.
From a regional perspective, what has come through loud and clear is that, as a growing and optimistic region, we need to speak with one voice when it comes to our investment priorities at a national level
The South West is a success story of innovation and diversification which, without deliberate amplification, will struggle to overcome long-held stereotypes. This means we need to speak with one voice – and there is a growing appetite for this.
Our business infrastructure priorities are in common with those of any growth region and focus around connectivity and infrastructure.
We also have a workforce problem. We know many of our clients struggle to find the talented individuals they need to help take their businesses to the next level. We’re in direct competition with London and other regions – and countries – for new talent. The pull of the South West lifestyle is not enough – particularly at the start of someone’s career. We need to create more reasons to make people believe a step here is as valid a decision as moving to the City, Edinburgh or Manchester.
Our strategy has been to focus on our core sectors. They are sectors common to the national business story, but in business activity where our region excels.
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Our newest sector is Private Wealth as a stand-alone area of expertise. It’s a field of law which, in the South West, has been a core element of our legal practice for many years. We wanted our expertise in this area to be understood properly.
Our Private Wealth sector was founded on the quality of our people and their specialist experience, but also for the clarity of advice we offer and our holistic approach. We are active participants in our client’s decision-making.
It has also been an area of growth for us for some time. That growth has enabled us to employ specialist lawyers – recruiting in competition with other regions and centres. That alone is a move which can only be achieved by a firm of our size operating at our scale.
The sector focuses on meeting the more complex needs of individuals who run their own businesses, whether that be the kind of entrepreneurial private company the South West has become a real hub for, or inter-generational farming businesses or anything in between.