Niche market lawyers branch out

Feb 12 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

TWO lawyers who spotted a gap in the market to combine legal advice with a property lettings service have taken the first step on the road to expansion.

The Lettings Group opened its first office in South Shields three years ago and has just opened a second in Darlington. Owners Chris Mackay and Kevin Studholme are on course to launch a further two branches this year. Mr Mackay and Mr Studholme are both solicitors who formerly worked together at Jackson’s Commercial and Private solicitors in Stockton. “We were always interested in property and we wanted to start our own practice, so we combined the two,” said Mr Mackay, from South Shields.

“The big difference between us and other letting services is that the office is managed by solicitors. Any problems are dealt with in-house. We purely specialise in property lettings, management and legal issues.”

The Lettings Group had planned to open its second branch on Teesside, because Mr Studholme lives in Yarm.

“But then the Darlington office came up and we really liked Darlington as a town,” said Mr Mackay.

A third solicitor, Garry Walklate, has been recruited to work from the new premises.