Entrepreneurs grow law firm to £7million turnover in five years

James Smith, left, and David Bancroft, co-founders of Holden Smith

A Yorkshire law firm launched in 2019 by two legal entrepreneurs is celebrating five years in business and a turnover of £7million.

Holden Smith was founded by property solicitor James Smith and business development specialist, David Bancroft, after the pair worked together at law firm Ison Harrison.

The pair has since grown the firm to a team of more than 100 people across four offices in Huddersfield, Leeds, Horsforth, and Elland.

James Smith said: “We became frustrated with the slow speed of transactions and generally outdated way of dealing with property matters in our previous roles and knew we could do things better.

“We decided to take a calculated risk and launch Holden Smith, creating a forward-thinking law firm that placed technology at its core to disrupt the market and create what we felt was a much-needed shift towards a focus on client experience in the legal sector.”

Initially launching with conveyancing, wills, and probate services, the firm has gone on to introduce family law and corporate and commercial departments to fuel its growth.

David Bancroft said: “There have been tough times, too. The pandemic started just over a year after we opened, and we were employing 20 staff by that point. It was a worrying time, as the housing market came to a standstill and we had to furlough most of the team, uncertain of the future.

“However, we recovered exceptionally well, and in the 12 months post-pandemic our growth accelerated rapidly and we opened a further three offices, eventually launching our family and corporate departments.”

Smith added: “We’re exceptionally proud of what we and the team have achieved in just five short years, and we are looking forward to what the future holds for Holden Smith.

“Our objective was always to build a law firm that used the latest technology to disrupt the market and create a much better experience for clients by speeding up transactions and achieving high levels of client satisfaction that translated to new business and commercial success, and we feel that’s what we’ve achieved.”