Around 65 staff members will transfer to the offshoot commercial wing of sold Manchester firm Pannone.

Pannone Corporate will retain the brand following the £33m sale of Pannone’s private client business and some of its commercial teams to Australian firm Slater & Gordon. The acquisition is expected to be completed next month.

Paul Jonson (pictured), currently head of dispute resolution at Pannone, will take on the role of managing partner and senior partner Steven Grant will become chairman. The offshoot firm is expected to take on around 50 lawyers who will offer legal services to commercial and public sector clients.

Jonson said Pannone Corporate will, where appropriate, continue to work with the real estate team that is transferring to Slater & Gordon to ensure a consistent service for existing clients.

‘We have aligned our teams to fit with our strategic aims and the culture of Pannone Corporate,’ he added.

‘The team includes lawyers who are leaders in their field across a number of disciplines and we are looking forward to adding new like-minded members to the team in the near future.’

The new firm will now look to recruit experienced real estate lawyers as well as commercial and construction experts.

Grant said the Pannone Corporate had received ‘excellent support’ from Lloyds Corporate Banking.

He added: ‘Pannone’s corporate and commercial clients have been very supportive of our plans and we are looking forward to working with many of them in the future.’

Slater & Gordon has previously indicated around 400 staff members will transfer from Pannone, although the Manchester firm employed nearly 600 as of last July, when figures were last published.

The Gazette reported last month that a redundancy consultation is underway. It concludes at the end of this month.