JMW Solicitors appointed to the Bank North panel

By Joy Dumasia

JMW Solicitors LLP has been appointed to the Bank North legal panel. Bank North is a Manchester-based challenger bank providing bespoke, competitive finance for the UK’s SMEs. The bank has a decentralised model delivering finance tailored specifically for every customer. JMW will be primarily involved in working with the bank to finalise the legal aspects of each lending transaction. 

Helen Johnston, Partner in the Banking and Finance team at JMW, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to the panel of Bank North. As a truly regional bank that is able to deliver finance at pace, we look forward to working with them as they expand across the UK.” 

Becky Owen at Bank North said: “Helen and the JMW Real Estate finance team has a proven track record in the market, combining both technical and commercially astute advice. Serving a market where regional expertise is a key attribute of our proposition, we are keen to ensure our partners are able to support our seamlessly-integrated, cloud-native banking platform. We are delighted to welcome JMW as part of our legal panel.” 

Helen Johnston is based in JMW’s London office, where the firm has enjoyed a sustained period of growth despite challenging market conditions. JMW Solicitors is ranked 70 in The Lawyer’s “UK 200: The Top 100” for 2021, moving up four places. The listing confirms that JMW posted the largest organic growth in the 51-100 tier, increasing revenues from £47.6 million in 2020 to £53.2 million this year, a 12% increase. The London office contributed £5.1 million to that growth. 

Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that Bank North, the UK’s first genuinely regional business bank of the modern era, has commenced lending from its first regional pod in Manchester, hot on the heels of signing a debt facility with Insight Investment in December 2021.