Harrison Drury marks Manchester growth with move to larger office

Harrison Drury has moved to a new office in Manchester following rapid growth in its client base and staff numbers – just over 14-months on from first opening its doors in the city.

We have taken around 3,500 sq ft of space on the fifth floor of the Cornerblock building, where Quay Street meets Deansgate, after rapidly outgrowing our previous offices within the Tootal Buildings near Oxford Road.

It comes as our headcount in Manchester has grown from two to 24 since we opened the office led by former TLT Corporate partners Rick Life and Mark Traynor in January 2024.

We’ve quickly grown our service offering through a programme of lateral hires, and now have senior lawyers in corporate, commercial and intellectual property, commercial property, construction, employment, insolvency and restructuring, family law and private client.

Harrison Drury’s Manchester team.

Rick Life, partner and head of Harrison Drury’s Manchester office, said: “It’s been a momentous year for the whole firm and the reception we’ve had in Manchester from clients and the professional community has been incredible.

“Our growth strategy is all about people and we’ve been able to attract some exceptional talent with lots of experience and specialism to come and join us, with some more key hires due to join us too.”

Partner Mark Traynor, head of our corporate team, said: “Our new office offers us an inspiring space in a great location, providing us with the capacity to further grow our team and stay close to our clients and contacts. The move highlights our long-term commitment to this thriving city and provides us with a space we can be proud of.”

Recent appointments in Manchester include corporate senior associate Jennifer Murphy, insolvency partner Heather Morris, and partner Rory O’Hare who heads up our commercial and intellectual property team.

These appointments followed a flurry of senior hires in 2024, including corporate partner Hayley Goodwin, and employment partner Emma Butterworth.