Leading 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, brings over 21 years’ experience in the field and is a recognised expert in Registered Social Landlord (RSL) projects, funding and constitutional matters.

Hugo also brings with him David Isaacson, another member of his team, who has eight years’ experience.  The duo have worked on many significant social housing projects in the Midlands and further afield, including the creation of the Shropshire Housing Group and Torridge District Council’s LSVT to the newly formed Westward Housing Group.

With the issue of housing having a higher political profile than ever before, both Hugo and David are looking forward to adding to Cobbetts unique experience in this field and responding to the significant changes in the way sustainable and affordable housing is delivered in the UK.

“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,” Hugo commented.

“In this current climate, 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 of change.”

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. We are looking forward to the boost that Hugo and David’s arrival will bring to our existing good work in these areas across the UK.”

Picture Caption: Hugo Stephens, Cobbetts