Ashfords, confident of future, appoints two new Partners to Bristol office and announces Andrew Betteridge as Managing Partner

Wednesday 23rd September 2009

Law firm Ashfords LLP announces the appointment of two new Partners to its Bristol office. Andrew Worley joins from LHP Law to join the Commercial Property team and Simon Staples joins from Veale Wasbrough Lawyers to work alongside Andrew Betteridge in Corporate.

In addition, Andrew Betteridge is appointed to Managing Partner of the Bristol office to succeed Garry Mackay who has been promoted to lead Business Development, assisting Ian Daniells, Chief Executive at Ashfords, based in the Exeter head office.

Andrew Betteridge, Managing Partner of the Bristol office, commented:

“There is no doubt that the legal market has seen tough times in the last 18 months. Ashfords has been fortunate during this period to be working with a good client list which has been a great support.

Looking to the future, we see opportunities to develop the practice which present themselves very rarely. We are delighted that Andrew and Simon have chosen to join Ashfords. They both come with excellent reputations and client followings.”



Andrew Worley, a graduate of Cardiff University and University of West of England (LPC pass with merit), qualified in 2002. Specialising in Commercial Property and Corporate law he joins Ashfords from LHP Law LLP where he developed a wide client base including Property Surveyors, Business Agents, Estate Agents and IFAs throughout Bath, Wiltshire and Bristol. Andrew is an approved panel Solicitor for Subway the American submarine sandwich franchise business and has assisted them in acquiring over 300 sites throughout the South of England. After starting out in the Insurance industry and having qualified with the Chartered Insurance Institute in 1997, Andrew converted to the legal profession, working with Sisman Nichols and David Gist while qualifying. Post qualification, Andrew returned to Sisman Nichols where he spent three years undertaking Commercial Property and Corporate Law work before joining LHP Law in 2005.

Simon Staples returns to Ashfords, where he spent nearly three years between 2003 and 2006. After a career with Wragge & Co in Birmingham, Simon moved to Bristol to further his experience in Ashfords’ Corporate Team. Simon specialises in mergers, acquisitions and disposals as well as advising companies, financial advisers and brokers regarding equity fundraisings, including IPOs, secondary issues, public company takeovers and regulatory compliance. Simon worked on the flotation of GMO Ltd whilst at Ashfords before moving to Veale Wasbrough to establish a Plc team. At Veale Wasbrough, Simon specialised in Corporate Finance work, including acting for Nominated Advisers on AIM flotations and a Plus Corporate adviser on a successful secondary share issue. Qualified in 1999, Simon is a graduate of the Universities of Durham, Plymouth and Bristol.

Having worked with Simon Staples during his time at Ashfords previously, Andrew Betteridge added:

“Simon is a valuable addition to the Corporate Team in Bristol, he has a great depth of experience in corporate finance and Plc matters. We are delighted that he has returned.

The benefit from Simon’s expertise on regulatory matters will be felt practice-wide. It is an area where we have seen an increasing need from clients and which will be further needed as the financial markets return to normality.”

Ashfords LLP is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The information in this note is intended to be general information about English law only and not comprehensive. It is not to be relied on as legal advice nor as an alternative to taking professional advice relating to specific circumstances.