Real Estate and Litigation teams join Hill Dickinson’s Birmingham office

International commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has welcomed a Real Estate team and a Real Estate Litigation team to its new Birmingham office. The news follows the opening of the firm’s Midlands base in February this year. 

The two new teams will join Hill Dickinson’s five-strong Birmingham corporate team, who spearheaded the firm’s new office, joining from Irwin Mitchell. The team currently occupies a 2500 sq ft office, located in the Grade II-listed Louisa Ryland House.

Both new teams are also lateral hires from Irwin Mitchell. The Real Estate team is led by Ben Acheson as partner, formerly head of Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham Real Estate team.  Acheson brings over 15 years of real estate legal experience to the role, with expertise in investment and development transactions, acting for both landlords and tenants.

Acheson is joined by senior associate Stuart McDonald, who will support on a wide variety of property work with experience in strategic land and development, landlord and tenant and corporate banking support.

Completing the Real Estate team are paralegals Sufyan Mulla and Leah Bouckley and apprentice solicitor Alicia Robinson. 

Heading up the Real Estate Litigation team is partner Tim Rayner, who joins with a career spanning over 20 years dealing with real estate disputes.  Tim and his team deal with the full range of commercial property-related disputes but with a focus on investor-landlords and corporate occupiers, and with a particular specialism in dilapidations. He is joined by legal director Alison Willis, who brings with her almost 11 years’ experience in real estate disputes, also with an emphasis on landlord and tenant matters, and associate Sana Ikhlaq. 

The additions form part of the firm’s growth plans to strengthen its corporate and banking services nationally from the new Midlands base, strategically located as a confluence of the North and London. 

Craig Scott, CEO elect and head of business services, said: “As the UK’s second largest city, the real estate market in Birmingham continues to grow, so it’s the perfect time to be establishing a dedicated Real Estate team in the city to fulfil the growing demand we are seeing for our services here. The expertise that Ben, Tim and the wider team bring will allow us to strengthen our commercial offering across the Midlands market, along with our national capabilities.” 

Ben Acheson commented: “Birmingham is a major hub for real estate services, as it’s geographically central location means we deal with business demand from across the UK. Hill Dickinson is growing its presence at pace, so the decision to join the firm and be part of that growth story is a great opportunity not only for me but for all of us as a team. I’m confident that our combined knowledge across a range of real estate services will allow us to create a market-leading offering for the firm in the heart of the Midlands.”

Tim Rayner added: “Having grown up in Birmingham and worked in the city for the vast majority of my career, I have a solid understanding of the city’s market dynamics and growing demands. I am thrilled to be continuing to offer real estate disputes services to new and existing clients across the Midlands and beyond, and Hill Dickinson offers a unique and exciting platform to accelerate that growth.”