The year 2022 was extremely memorable in a lot of different ways, sadly not all of them good - but for Hay & Kilner, it was a landmark 12 months during which we set the course for our growth strategy over the rest of the decade and beyond.
Our move in September into our new headquarters in The Lumen, which sits within the vibrant Newcastle Helix hybrid city quarter, and the fresh, dynamic brand identity that we adopted at the same time represented a real step change in our operations and ambitions.
Taking over the whole of the fifth floor of The Lumen, with its iconic views across the Newcastle and Gateshead skyline, allowed us to bring all of our Newcastle team together in one place and the buzz it’s created across the firm is unmistakable.
It’s been a great pleasure to introduce clients and contacts old and new to our new offices over the last few months, with the ‘wow factor’ that we wanted it to deliver being very clear in everyone’s reaction (not to mention in the number of photos that they’ve taken of our spectacular surroundings!).
But our new headquarters are about much more than just glass, light and fantastic views.
They’re very much a statement of confidence in our future, and in the future of the city and region that we’ve called home for more than 75 years.
Despite the wider economic situation, our firm belief is that there’s very much still confidence in the North East, perhaps as much now as there has ever been, as well as a real sense that there is much more growth potential to be realised.
From Hay & Kilner’s point of view, our long-term aim remains to become a bigger, better version of ourselves by retaining our focus on providing high quality advice and support to clients which meets both their commercial and personal needs while also expanding our capacity to work with more and bigger organisations.
Part of this obviously means bringing in more of the right calibre of people, and as well as helping us retain some key people, our new headquarters has undoubtedly played a role in enabling us achieve some of our recruitment aims.
Some extremely talented and highly-regarded solicitors have joined the firm in recent months across a range of specialisms, including Jonathan Bone, Louisa Bestford and Jessica Cousin in our commercial property, family law and commercial contracts departments respectively.
Our dispute resolution team is also expanding, and we’ve allowed space in The Lumen for even more appointments to follow across the firm through 2023.
Looking at activity levels in the corporate and commercial sector over the last 12 months, we’ve seen a continuing flow of client instructions for a diverse mix of transactions, including MBOs, private equity investments and property deals, and there’s no sign so far this year of this trend slowing down.
The invaluable relationships that we hold and are building across the North East SME community are absolutely central to our future growth strategy, and we’re proud of the positive impact that we can have on individual firms’ operations and commercial success.
There are clearly challenges ahead from which none of us will be immune, but with challenges always come opportunities, and we stand ready to help regional entrepreneurs make the best of them during 2023.
Hay & Kilner is one of North East England’s leading independent law firms and provides comprehensive legal advice across every aspect of the law to businesses and individuals from both within and outside the region.