A Black Country law firm has strengthened its senior management team as it aims to reach £12m in fees by the end of 2017.
Talbots, which employs nearly 200 people across its network of seven offices, has appointed Matt Wistow as its first ever Business Development Director with the brief of building on the company’s thriving reputation in residential property, family law and trusts and estates.
The keen sportsman, who once swam the English Channel for Diabetes UK, will be targeted with increasing engagement with SMEs and intermediaries in the region, taking the firm’s legal expertise and understanding to deliver advice on more commercial issues, corporate transactions and issues in the workplace.
He brings with him nearly 30 years of corporate banking and professional services experience, including senior positions at The Royal Bank of Scotland and accountancy firm Shaw Gibbs, where he was responsible for supporting high value clients with their personal and commercial requirements.
In his new role, Matt will use his extensive network of contacts and b2b marketing experience to help secure new opportunities in business services, including corporate transactions, commercial property and employment law.
“This is a very exciting time for Talbots, with the management team keen to increase turnover by £2m over the next twelve months, an objective that will see us break £12m for the first time in our 25-year history,” explained Matt.
He continued: “The company has a very strong reputation and has recently invested heavily in new branding that has been a big hit with clients. My role will be to reinforce that brand and also look at ways where we can adopt different approaches to accelerate growth across our core legal offers.”
Matt will be responsible for a five-strong sales and marketing team, in addition to managing a range of external consultants that help with design, PR and e-marketing.
He is a firm believer in building personal relationships and will support Talbots staff to be more visible in the local community, attending events and networking at strategic business functions.
Talbots’ Chief Executive Mary Mocklow was delighted with the appointment: “We are thrilled to have secured Matt’s services, especially the amount of experience and knowledge he can bring to the table.
“We have wanted to strengthen the senior management team for some time and felt we had got to the stage where a specialist in business development was needed. A lot of our growth has come from word of mouth and referrals, which is excellent. However, to really accelerate our expansion we require a more structured and cohesive approach.
“If we can generate £12m of fees in 2017 that will mean we will have more than doubled the size of the business in just five years. A fantastic achievement and one that we will be immensely proud of.”
Talbots operates from seven offices in Codsall, Dudley, Halesowen, Kidderminster, Stourbridge, Stourport and on Waterloo Road in Wolverhampton.
In 2016, the firm enjoyed 26% growth in income across its residential property portfolio and assisted thousands of clients on family issues, executing trusts and estates and delivering crucial business services.
