Mervyn Howard, Grosvenor

'Around five or six years ago, the decision was taken to expand Grosvenor's fund management business fairly significantly. That’s when I joined the company, to head up Fund Management in the UK.

I’ve worked with Nabarro in previous roles. I was very aware of their experience in the area that we operate in, which is private co-investment vehicles for real estate, so I was keen to work with them at Grosvenor.

Over the years the relationship has grown, in line with the growth of our business. We’ve been working with the property finance team in London and the property management team in Sheffield. The property finance area also brings in banking work and tax. Nabarro has been innovative whenever tax rules have changed, coming in and suggesting potential ways forward.

What we particularly value out of our relationship with Nabarro is both their technical ability and their market expertise. For example, around two years ago there were some changes in tax legislation which meant that the whole industry really had to think about whether limited partnerships were appropriate vehicles. Together with Nabarro we came up with a particular structure that worked for us: to retain the partnership interest and put a Jersey unit trust structure on top. Not only was this a good structure in theory but it was also one that investors would be willing to embrace. Nabarro helped guide us to a solution that a number of fund managers have adopted.

Nabarro are proactive. They do come to us with ideas and proposals. That’s very refreshing. It’s one of the things that mark them out.

What we really value with property management is that they have a dedicated team, which is set up with a lower cost base. What seems to be unusual with major law firms is getting a high quality of service together with a cost-efficient structure for the work that’s more routine. I think what Nabarro has done well here is create a way of delivering that consistently.

Nabarro have a really good focus on process and project management. It’s terribly important in a major transaction to know that there is a clear process of who is doing what and when things are supposed to happen, rather than deal drift, which can happen with other firms that are less focused.

They have also done some work for us on employment law and health and safety. It’s always comforting to know that there is broader expertise even if we are not always using it. But the overwhelming thing that makes Nabarro good for us is the fact that they have so much expertise in property and they have really built off their property base into tax, finance, and related areas.

The other thing is, we like working with them. Different firms have different styles and the style of Nabarro creates strong personal relationships. We see them as part of the team.'