Lodders has axed its Shipston-upon-Stour office to concentrate on its Stratford-upon-Avon base.

Partner Paul Thompson relocated to Stratford 18 months ago and he has now been joined by Cheryl Brudenell and Suzanne Watt. Ms Watt has returned after a short spell in retirement.

She will be supporting managing partner Rod Bird in the commercial property department while the arrival of Ms Brudenell strengthens Lodders’ residential conveyancing team in Stratford.

Ruth Shipman and Judy Forrester are also transferring from the Shipston office to join the private client team.

The move out of Shipston started 12 months ago. The original closing date was due to be the end of this month but the date was pulled forward. The Shipston office formally shuts today.

No job losses are involved. Mr Bird said: "We are constantly growing our operations in Stratford and we are determined to improve the quality of service that we provide to clients and to ensure that we have the staff, the supervision and the back-up that the quality of work that we are undertaking requires. At Stratford Lodders has invested around #80,000 in software systems to boost client care and response times."

The firm is now using Solcase, a management system for residential property and Isokon, for the private client department.