This year’s rush to upgrade office space in Cardiff has shown no sign of slowing down, with yet another firm moving to bigger premises in the city.
Acuity Law, which operates nationally but has its headquarters in the Welsh capital, announced this week it is relocating to Callaghan Square, a commercial office building in the city’s business district.
Turnover at the firm has increased by 15% and is on track to exceed £20m in the next year, so the firm needed more space to scale the business.
Acuity works across the energy, defence, technology, and health and social care and is part of a growing number of legal service providers with both employees and consultants on the books. The firm is also seeing a growing demand for its outsourced counsel service.
Steve Berry, chairman of Acuity Law, said: ‘Our move to 3 Callaghan Square is a clear, visible sign of how far this firm has come, and the scale of our ambition for what comes next.
‘In a world being reshaped by technology and AI, we’re continuing to challenge the traditional ways legal services are delivered. That’s helping us win new clients, attract great people and compete on a national stage.’
Acuity is one of at least five firms in Cardiff to have announced moves into new offices this year.
In January, Browne Jacobson took on 9,500 sq ft of space on the fourth floor at One Central Square, the recent development between Cardiff Central railway stations and the Principality Stadium. The firm had come to Wales with a team of seven in 2023 but by the time of the office move it had grown to 40 people, including seven partners.
Irwin Mitchell announced in April it would move to new premises at Temple Court on Cathedral Road. The office is home to lawyers from the personal injury, medical negligence, Court of Protection, and public law teams.
Last week, Devonshires announced the opening of a Cardiff office to be led by real estate and social housing partner Liz Gibbons. The firm said it was attracted to the city and the wider region by ambitious plans for housing delivery, regeneration and infrastructure.
Gibbons said: ‘This new office is a sign of our commitment to clients and prospects in Wales, which is an important market and one we want to help shape the growth of in the years ahead. Being physically located and embedded in the business community is essential to achieving this.
'It’s an exciting time to be working in Wales. With significant government funding available, there are new investment opportunities across the length and breadth of the country.’
Meanwhile, national firm Knights is moving to a new office at One Central Square later this year, with capacity for more than 50 staff on day one and scope for expansion beyond that.
And the recent investment into the legal profession extends beyond Cardiff: last year Redkite Solicitors announced a new office in the heart of Swansea city centre, located within the newly developed Princess Quarter.
Emma Waddingham, president of Cardiff & District Law Society, said the surge of law firms expanding their presence is down to a number of factors.
‘The increasing availability of high-quality Grade A office space in the heart of the city is undoubtedly part of that, but so too is growing confidence within the sector,’ she said. ‘Firms are thinking much more deliberately about the experience they offer their people and clients, and about using their offices as places to collaborate, meet, host events and build relationships. For several firms that entered the Cardiff market over the past five years or so, we are also now seeing their original growth plans come to fruition, with expansion broadly following the trajectory they anticipated.
‘Importantly, this isn’t solely a Cardiff story. We are seeing firms elsewhere in Wales reporting growth and investing in their people and presence too - the trickle effect that Cardiff wants to see across Wales.’
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