Ashtons Legal joins forces with Heslop & Platt

East Anglian law firm Ashtons Legal is joining forces with Leeds-based Heslop & Platt with effect from 29 November 2019 in order to take a leading position in the UK’s French Legal Services market.

Both firms are long-established players in this field with strong contacts among notaires, property agents and banks across France. The firms are seeking cumulatively to become the number one ‘go-to’ provider in the UK for those buying or selling residential property in France, transferring ownership following divorce or separation, wishing to make a French Will to operate alongside their UK Will, or dealing with post-death estate administration involving a French property.

The Ashtons Legal French Legal Services team forms part of a much broader legal business, acting for a wide range of businesses regionally and nationally. Heslop & Platt is a niche firm, dealing with a full range of legal services relating to French property. Both have been established in this field for over ten years, with leading solicitors Matthew Cameron and Barbara Heslop being well regarded within their professional sphere. Both existing brands will continue to operate, using their combined increased size to increase their market share and geographical reach in a cost-effective manner.

Matthew Cameron, who leads the team at Ashtons Legal, comments: “Amid all the debate, confusion and concerns in the UK this year about our future role in Europe, one thing has become very clear. The majority of people who love France and the French lifestyle are not going to change their plans in light of the political situation. The few who are choosing to sell their existing properties are, of course, also in need of our support. The main area in which we are seeing an increase in activity at present is those who already own homes in France and wish to make French Wills to sit alongside their English ones. We also deal with many succession issues on behalf of individuals who are inheriting property from parents who retired to France some years ago.

We are very much looking forward to working with Barbara’s team. There is a great deal of synergy and it will be a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.”

Barbara Heslop adds: “Whilst our profile and client base is nationwide, our presence in the north of the UK is stronger than that of Ashtons. The full-service Ashtons’ infrastructure will give us the strength and depth that we could not realistically achieve alone. I’m very confident that this will be a great move for both parties”.