Press Release – July 26
One of the North’s fastest-growing law firms is expanding outside its traditional home territory for the first time in its 48-year history. Ison Harrison, which was founded in 1978, has officially opened its 27th regional office, choosing the heart of Manchester’s commercial district for its historic first move into the North West.
The new branch, located at No.1 Spinningfields, marks the firm’s fourth office opening this year alone. The Spinningfields base establishes a strategic foothold for the firm within walking distance of the city’s major courts and professional services.
The expansion follows a period of unprecedented momentum for the firm. Since making the pioneering move to become 100% employee-owned in 2022, Ison Harrison has nearly doubled its turnover, with revenues surpassing £35 million for 2025 and projected to exceed £38 million by the end of 2026. The firm, which now employs over 450 staff, was also recently named among the UK’s top ten employers in the “Best Big Places to Work” category by The Sunday Times.
The new Manchester branch will be led by Niamh Wilson, a partner in the new build property team, and will offer the firm’s comprehensive range of legal services.
Niamh Wilson commented:
“Securing a base in a prime business location like Spinningfields is a massive milestone for the firm, as it establishes a presence in Manchester. Having a high-quality workspace in the centre of the city’s commercial district gives us the perfect environment for collaborating with clients and professional partners. We arrive in Manchester with a highly skilled team and look forward to delivering the immediate, high-quality legal support that Ison Harrison is known for to businesses and individuals across the North West.”
Jonathan Wearing, managing director of Ison Harrison, added:
“Our strategic expansion across the North has always been driven by where our clients need us to be. Moving outside of our Yorkshire heartland for the first time in 48 years is a huge step, but doing so in Manchester felt like the natural next progression for our business.
“What has made our recent growth so sustainable has been the fact that it has been entirely employee-driven. As an Employee-Owned law firm, every single member of the team is personally and financially invested in our collective success, which naturally fosters a deeply client-focused culture. The model has given us the stability and ambition to scale up rapidly, and we are incredibly excited to bring that collective spirit and expertise into the North West marketplace and more generally across the North.”
As the firm continues to grow, the firm has wider ambitions to open further offices across the North of England to enable the firm to deliver expert legal services in localities convenient to where clients, whether individuals or business owners, live and work. The branch model also enables the firm to attract legal talent by offering the benefits of employee ownership with the convenience of regional offices close to their homes and within the communities in which clients, contacts and employees live and work.
The firm offers a wide range of legal services. Initially the Manchester office will focus on property, new build and commercial work, supported by the other offices as necessary, but will expand the legal services delivered out of the office following future recruitment.
Ison Harrison now employs more than 460 staff across Yorkshire and the North West, offering the broadest range of legal expertise and services. The firm holds over 13 Law Society accreditations, including Lexcel, Clinical Negligence, Family Law, Immigration & Asylum, Conveyancing Quality, and SRA Higher Courts Rights – civil and criminal.
ENDS
