Law firm Cobbetts has attracted a high profile social housing partner from Pinsent Masons to join its housing and regeneration team in Birmingham.
Hugo Stephens, who was responsible for establishing the rival firm’s Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) team, has more than 21 years experience in the field and is a recognised expert in Registered Social Landlord (RSL) projects, funding and constitutional matters.
He also brings with him David Isaacson, another member of his team, who has eight years experience. They have worked on significant social housing projects in the Midlands, including the creation of the Shropshire Housing Group and Torridge District Council’s LSVT to the newly formed Westward Housing Group.
Cobbetts’ new arrivals say the firm is responding to changes to the way in which sustainable and affordable housing is developed.
“Whilst the private sector housing industry is suffering a difficult economic climate, social housing is increasingly in the spotlight with the Government’s recent Green Paper on housing provision putting further pressure on the delivery of quality affordable housing,” Mr Stephens said.
“A cohesive understanding of planning, regeneration and housing provision is increasingly important and the work that Cobbetts has done already means that we are uniquely placed to offer effective advice across all of these areas. I am looking forward to working with the other teams to make a difference to organisations in the region during this interesting period.”
Graham Muth, head of Cobbetts’ Birmingham office, commented: “We are delighted to be able to continue to respond to demanding times in the fields of housing and regeneration with such high quality lateral hires building on the extensive experience we already have.”
