Slater and Gordon will axe four offices in the UK.
The shrinking firm has told staff that it will close offices in Chester, Wrexham and Milton Keynes. It will also shut a fourth base in Preston when the lease expires next summer. The closures will leave ten offices in the UK. An S&G spokesman told RollOnFriday that the firm was consolidating a number of the smaller offices into its larger regional hubs. He added that the firm would "work closely with the colleagues impacted" and "where possible" move them to the larger offices.
The cull follows the firm's recent announcement that the UK arm would be cut off from the Australian business. S&G's approach to slim down and streamline is a drastic u-turn from when it launched in the UK in 2012 and tried to expand rapidly. However, its acquisition of Quindell's legal division in 2015 was disastrous and has been blamed for the firm's failure. S&G recorded a AUD1 billion loss in the financial year 2015/16 and a loss of AUD546m in the financial year 2016/17. Its shares were suspended last year. In July this year, the firm agreed in principle to a AUD36.5 million settlement payment to its own disgruntled shareholders.
An S&G associate told RollOnFriday that the firm has "done a full 180 turn from the initial 'Costa coffee' strategy of having an office on every high street and is now shutting offices left, right and centre". He added "nobody in my department of 120 got a pay rise this year, regardless of individual performance."
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The shrinking firm has told staff that it will close offices in Chester, Wrexham and Milton Keynes. It will also shut a fourth base in Preston when the lease expires next summer. The closures will leave ten offices in the UK. An S&G spokesman told RollOnFriday that the firm was consolidating a number of the smaller offices into its larger regional hubs. He added that the firm would "work closely with the colleagues impacted" and "where possible" move them to the larger offices.
The cull follows the firm's recent announcement that the UK arm would be cut off from the Australian business. S&G's approach to slim down and streamline is a drastic u-turn from when it launched in the UK in 2012 and tried to expand rapidly. However, its acquisition of Quindell's legal division in 2015 was disastrous and has been blamed for the firm's failure. S&G recorded a AUD1 billion loss in the financial year 2015/16 and a loss of AUD546m in the financial year 2016/17. Its shares were suspended last year. In July this year, the firm agreed in principle to a AUD36.5 million settlement payment to its own disgruntled shareholders.
Management handed out gifts with subtle hints as to who would be kept on |
An S&G associate told RollOnFriday that the firm has "done a full 180 turn from the initial 'Costa coffee' strategy of having an office on every high street and is now shutting offices left, right and centre". He added "nobody in my department of 120 got a pay rise this year, regardless of individual performance."
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