The Steel Circle? Sheffield stakes its claim

Mar 31, 2016

Written By Jack J Collins, Editor, AllAboutLaw.co.uk

The City of Sheffield has created a plan to try and tempt the UK’s leading law firms out of London and into the Steel City, a plan being coined as ‘northshoring.

Cash incentives form the basis of the plans, and leaders have contacted every top 100 law firm in the UK, urging them to consider moving their business to the Midlands.

Further incentives are also being offered however – relief on business rates, grants for business investment and complementary use of the city’s recruitment consultants. According to the Law Gazette, one firm has already been offered a year of rent-free office space if it commits to a five-year lease.

Whilst Belfast and Cardiff have already offered such schemes to incentivize moving away from the capital, Sheffield is the first English city to publicly offer these plans to firms.

The campaign is being led by Creative Sheffield, which is a branch of the City Council dedicated to business development and the creation of jobs and growth within the city, and is backed by a budget of almost £3 million over the 2016/17 financial year.

Leigh Bramall, deputy leader of Sheffield City Council, is quoted as saying: “We believe Sheffield has reached a critical point whereby the city has a compelling offer and a track record of success.

“By further expanding legal services, adding to those companies already here, we can continue to build a strong city centre that makes our city increasingly vibrant and attractive, which in turn helps to attract other companies, creating jobs and wealth.”

The campaign is emphasising the exceptional transport links to both national and international hubs for business, giving them a head start on both Manchester and Leeds, as well as the fact that salary costs are nearly 30% lower than those in London.

It is also backed by some of the city’s biggest current legal practices, which include DLA Piper, Irwin Mitchell and Nabarro, as well as by both Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam Universities.

Bramall stated that it was the optimal quality of life and affordable nature of Sheffield that he felt was the main incentive for firms to move, stating that: “Sheffield is the greenest city in the country, meaning the greenery is part of the city’s fabric, not just on the fringes of the city, and the safest major city for violent crime”

On the back of Freshfield’s major move to Salford last year, is it only a matter of time before we see the development of Sheffield’s very own ‘Steel Circle’?

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