Trowers & Hamlins’ Manchester Office Head, Suzanne Benson, named Firm’s new Real Estate Sector head

Manchester-based Partner Suzanne Benson, has been appointed as the new national head of the firm’s Real Estate Sector. She takes over from Senior Partner, Sara Bailey, who has stepped aside after a decade in the role.

Suzanne is currently head of Trowers’ Manchester office and leads the firm’s North West Real Estate team, roles which she will retain alongside her new appointment. She has been with Trowers for 25 years and specialises in major projects (including strategic land, joint ventures and regeneration) and the delivery of residential schemes.

Trowers has over 450 people advising clients in the real estate sector across all of the firm’s 9 offices in the UK, Middle East and Asia and includes lawyers from diverse service lines including corporate, dispute resolution, finance, tax and employment. Trowers is internationally recognised for the depth and calibre of its real estate offering and regularly undertakes high-profile and complex matters and deals for many of the industry’s key players.

Commenting on her appointment, Suzanne said, “Trowers is rare in the depth and breadth of our expertise and our work in the real estate sector and I am deeply proud to take up this role to lead on our real estate growth strategy.

“I very much look forward to working with our talented colleagues across our network to build on the excellent work already done by Sara. I’d like to thank her for all her hard work in steering the group over the last decade to enable Sara to dedicate more across the wider firm’s growth priorities. Real estate has a major role to play in creating a better and sustainable future for society and I’m looking forward to helping us play our part in that.”

As Senior Partner, Sara Bailey added, “The real estate industry is one of the world’s key economic drivers and plays a massive role both in the UK’s economy and those of most countries around the world. As we move into 2024, the industry faces unique challenges, but also massive opportunities, not least of all through the ongoing development of more environmentally friendly practices and as an exemplar of responsible business. As one of the leading law firms in the real estate sector, Trowers is working with clients across the globe to deliver on these key issues. At such an exciting time for the industry I am really pleased that Suzanne has taken on the role and I look forward to continuing to work with her as part of the wider growth strategy for the firm.”

“At such an exciting time for the industry I can think of no-one better than Suzanne to lead our international sector group and on behalf of all her Trowers colleagues, I’d like to congratulate Suzanne on her appointment.”