Scottish legal heavyweight hops west to establish new Edinburgh headquarters

Morton Fraser MacRoberts, the recently merged Scottish legal heavyweight, is taking a short hop west to establish a new Edinburgh headquarters.

The firm, which employs 480 people across operations in Edinburgh and Glasgow, plans to move to Haymarket Square from its current capital office at Quartermile in September. It said the new open-plan office space would “facilitate an environment of meaningful collaboration and in-person interaction between people and teams across the business”. The Grade A Haymarket Square development has been designed by world-renowned architectural practice Foster + Partners.

Neil Kennedy, chief operating officer at Morton Fraser MacRoberts, said: “This move will mark a significant milestone for Morton Fraser MacRoberts’ journey and will further support the effective integration of our two legacy businesses into a single combined firm. The new office space has been designed with a strong focus on agility, flexibility and choice for our people, which we believe are critical to a modern, progressive and people-centred law firm, whilst also enforcing first-class legal services to clients across Scotland, the rest of the UK and internationally.

“We are committed to optimising our office footprint, which includes the consolidation of our teams at our current offices at Quartermile in Edinburgh and Capella in Glasgow. It is an exciting time for the business, and the Haymarket location will be ideal for further integrating and connecting our teams in Edinburgh and Glasgow.”

The tie-up between Morton Fraser and MacRoberts was unveiled last September and was described as largely a merger of equals. The merged entity is about 30 per cent larger by turnover than its nearest rival.