Vincents Solicitors’ Penwortham branch is welcoming a host of new faces as a new team moves into the Liverpool Road office. Jemma Lloyd has been appointed Head of Branch for Penwortham and has relocated her four-strong conveyancing team to the town.
A conveyancing lawyer with more than 18 years’ experience, Jemma has moved from head office in Winckley Square to Penwortham with conveyancing solicitor Jade Driver, conveyancing executive Jack Andreae and assistant Emma Pomfret.
They join existing branch assistants Lisa Dawson and Helen Bradshaw to create the firms’ third specialist conveyancing hub, working for home buyers from across Preston and South Ribble.
The huge increase in conveyancing work for its teams across Lancashire has seen Vincents establish three dedicated residential property hubs in Lytham, Chorley and now Penwortham, expanding the department to more than 20 firm-wide, and recruitment is continuing.
The full range of legal services – including private client work such as wills and probate, family law like divorce and childcare issues, corporate and commercial, and personal injury support – are also offered through these hubs, with branches available for clients to meet with the firm’s highly experienced legal specialists from all departments.
New Penwortham branch head Jemma Lloyd said: “We’re delighted to be bringing this dedicated service to Penwortham to support homebuyers across Preston and South Ribble.
“There is definitely a large and growing demand for fast and efficient conveyancing at the moment, in fact I’ve never known a busier market, so I’m pleased that our newly expanded team will be in place to assist buyers.
“The extension to the Stamp Duty holiday is certainly driving higher demand, along with incentives such as Help to Buy and the new government-backed Mortgage Guarantee scheme, so people are trying to make the most of things while they can.
“There’s also the interest from people needing more space as homeworking continues, and we’ve seen hundreds of new build homes in the local area which has also boosted sales.
“Our focus will be on customer service and customer experience, prioritising communication, speed and efficiency to help their move go as smoothly as possible.
“I quite understand the stress and the questions that homebuyers have, I’ve moved a number of times myself, so we will try to answer queries and solve problems before they arise and reduce the amount of anxiety people face when buying and selling their home.
“The huge benefit of Vincents is that we have both a high street branch network, providing for people’s day-to-day legal needs like conveyancing, wills, and family law, but also specialist corporate, commercial and personal injury teams working from head office at Winckley Square which clients can access via any of the branch offices.
“This is vital for people in the local area where there are very few local law firms, and certainly none offering such a breadth and depth of expertise from its high street branches.”
As a local resident, Jemma knows the area well and is keen for the team to become familiar faces in the town. She added: “Although we won’t be able to meet with people face-to-face for the time being, we are only at the end of the phone and available by email, and we can offer video calls for anyone who wants them.
“And, as soon as we can reopen the Liverpool Road office fully, we’re really looking forward to welcoming clients in for a coffee and a chat.”
Vincents’ offices are currently closed to visitors in line with the government’s latest guidance. All departments are still open with staff working from home who can be contacted in the usual ways by telephone and email.