Top marks for Barclays as Glanvilles expands
This summer marks an exciting time for South Coast legal firm Glanvilles, which has just expanded into larger, new premises in Chichester and invested in the latest technology to further improve the service it provides to clients.
At the same time, after more than three decades, the practice has recently become a customer of Barclays, a move CEO and partner Jeremy Weeks describes as delivering “10 out of 10” in terms of service and support.
As an established law firm with offices in Fareham, Havant and Chichester, Glanvilles provides legal services across both the corporate and commercial, and private sectors.
It is proud to have attained three highly-sought after accreditations from The Law Society, including the Lexcel quality mark for excellence in legal practice management and client care, and the Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme for quality standards in residential conveyancing practices.
Weeks said: “This is a very exciting time for us. Our corporate and commercial offering has been a real success story over the past couple of years and it continues to grow, while our private client work is also doing well.
“Our Chichester office only opened in 2015, so to be consolidating our growth by taking on a 10-year lease on a new larger property and expanding our team of lawyers there, is a major move for us and one we are very pleased to be taking.”
The Chichester team will increase from three to six solicitors, offering a mixture of commercial, property, and private client work. There are also plans to further develop the litigation team in Fareham and bring another commercial lawyer on board.
Lending its own support for the firm’s growth is Barclays which, under the guidance of relationship director Stewart Bulpitt, provides both day-to-day operational banking services such as client deposits, partner loans and card services; and adds value across the wider business community.
“I have known Stewart for more than 15 years and, when the opportunity arose, he presented a very convincing argument in terms of the service levels and accessibility to senior decision makers, that Barclays could provide,” continued Weeks.
“Helping us through the transition period, the support team was exceptional, incredibly organised and professional and that was a real bonus.
“The change has certainly delivered, we have got everything we asked for and more – 10 out of 10 without a doubt. Stewart is very accessible, he does what he says he will do and, if he can’t help, then he puts you on to people who generally can.
“They have also helped us with making introductions and developing new links with other businesses too. For us, this was all about customer service, and Barclays has delivered.”
One of the major projects where Barclays has provided support was additional funding for the implementation of a new practice management software system. Weeks admits that the actual changeover process was “quite traumatic” but says the new system offers real improvements and efficiencies for clients.
In addition, the introduction of Barclays’ own Barclays.Net electronic banking system has enabled the practice to take a big step forward, with Weeks praising the Barclays technology as both more effective and easier to use than the previous system.
A series of Barclays’ Meet the Team events which introduce individuals from different parts of the bank to key fee earners from Glanvilles is also helping to share knowledge between the two organisations.
Stewart Bulpitt concluded: “We are very pleased to be working with Glanvilles and to be able to share our understanding and industry knowledge to help them achieve ongoing success and growth. As well as supporting them on a daily basis, we will be looking to build key new relationships and ultimately generate new business opportunities for both parties.”
Barclays Bank PLC is registered in England (Company No. 1026167) with its registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register No. 122702) and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Barclays is a trading name and trade mark of Barclays PLC and its subsidiaries.
The views expressed in this article are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barclays Bank PLC Group nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of the Barclays Bank PLC Group. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in the third party guides or articles and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed.
Jeremy Weeks
023 9249 2300
Stewart Bulpitt
07775 552713
