Highly-respected real estate lawyer Simon Jackson has expressed his excitement at returning to the Yorkshire market after national firm Bevan Brittan confirmed he had joined its expanding Leeds team.

The Leeds-born development and investment specialist has moved to Bevan Brittan as a Partner, joining from listed law firm Knights shortly after its takeover of Shulmans, where Simon had worked for more than 30 years and been a member of its management board.

He becomes the ninth Partner in Bevan Brittan’s 35-strong real estate and property team in Yorkshire and said he is delighted to be returning to work in the Leeds market after a period working on property deals in London and the south-east.

The news follows a strong year for the national firm, which also has offices in Birmingham, Bristol and London. It recorded its eight consecutive year of growth and recruited eight new Partners to its expanding business in 2021, including two in Leeds – pensions expert Nigel Bolton and construction specialist Sarah Wilson.

Its Social Housing Team was also ranked as Tier 1 in the respected Chambers listings with further Top Tier rankings in the Legal 500 in Yorkshire for Social Housing: Local Government and Healthcare.

Simon said: “I wanted to work with a dynamic, forward-looking business and build a genuine real estate presence in Leeds. I was really impressed with what Bevan Brittan had been doing in Yorkshire and what they plan to do.

“I think the team has so much to offer businesses across Yorkshire and the North. We can draw on the experience in the real estate team in Leeds and also the wider firm nationally, with more than 100 property lawyers in total.”

The lifelong Leeds Rhinos fan added: “I’m really excited to be coming back to the Leeds market as well. It’s the largest legal centre outside of London and highly competitive. There’s so much going on in this market and I’m looking forward to working on some fantastic deals to help businesses advance their growth plans.”

James Atkins, Head of the Leeds office for Bevan Brittan, said: “Our team in Yorkshire is going from strength to strength and adding Simon to that gives us another level.

“He’s got fantastic experience from three decades of working in the real estate market here in Leeds and further afield and being able to add that to our national property, construction and development offering means we can support clients on some of the biggest and most complex developments around in both the private and public sectors.”

Simon adds his 34 years of experience to the Leeds real estate team, including a track record in advising on a number of high value, complex development deals and relocations of manufacturing operations and headquarters for both national and international companies.