Press Release | Spencer West’s Scotland Expansion

David Morton & Azeem Arshad & David Kaye & Andrew Fraser
14 September 2023
Strengthening its Presence: Leading alternative law firm Spencer West takes bold step into the Scottish legal landscape marking a new chapter of growth and expertise expansion

Entrepreneurial law firm Spencer West has expanded its Scottish team and taken offices in Glasgow. Key hires include the ‘dynamic duo of franchising’; specialists David Kaye and Andrew Fraser as well as esteemed Real Estate Partner, Azeem Arshad.

David, previously of Harper McLeod, has joined Spencer West both in his capacity as an expert Franchising lawyer, but additionally, he will be working within the Business Development team looking to encourage new relationships as well as strengthening existing ones.

Talking about his new role David said “I am very passionate about developing strong bonds among experienced specialists and clients who want strong positive relationships with their chosen advisors. Spencer West constantly strives to achieve this with a spirit that engenders trust and commitment to their role as client partners.”

Alongside David, Spencer West has also hired Andrew Fraser. Andrew is another highly experienced and respected Franchising lawyer, accredited by the British Franchise Association as a ‘Qualified Franchise Professional’. He is one of only a small number of lawyers in the UK to have been awarded this status.

Andrew’s firm Albany Fraser has also formed a new collaborative association with Spencer West, giving the UK-based law firm a strong alliance within Scotland, whilst clients of Albany Fraser will be able to tap-into the support and wide range of specialisms provided by Spencer West lawyers.

This move reunites David and Andrew who together are quite the power-pair within the franchising sector, and the news has been met with emphatic approval from numerous commentators.

Andrew said “It just so happens to be the start of Albany Fraser’s fifth year in business and announcing this new association with Spencer West is a great way of marking the occasion! I’m excited by the breadth of expertise and experience of my fellow Partners within Spencer West and the more holistic support that Albany Fraser (via this association) can offer to clients. I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues and, of course, reuniting with great friend and previous colleague, David Kaye”

The final hire of the three has been Azeem Arshad, a highly respected Real Estate Partner with experience including representing franchisees of McDonald’s, Costa, and Dominos in respect of Scottish leasing requirements, Middle Eastern investors in respect of their Scottish investment acquisitions, UK investors and funds with asset management and developers with site acquisition through to off-plan pre-lets.

Azeem is delighted to be reunited with David Kaye and to be joining the forward-thinking firm. Azeem said: “David Kaye and I have gone full circle over a period of approximately 17 years. Prior to me qualifying as a solicitor I was involved at franchisor level with a national fast-food franchise, and David was my own franchising lawyer!”

Scotland Founding Partner David Morton added “I am delighted that we are expanding our Scottish practice at Spencer West with the addition of David, Andy and Azeem. This is only the beginning of our expansion plans for Scotland.”

He continued, “We have also marked the opening of our Glasgow office at 2 West Regent Street, Glasgow, a great City centre location for meeting clients. I am truly excited by the prospects for our Scottish practice, and we are all looking forward to working together and for our clients.”

Antoine West, Managing Partner at Spencer West heralds this move as a fantastic opportunity for the fee-sharing law firm to grow its presence within Scotland, but also to enhance its offering in the retail and franchising sectors.

Antoine said, “Our new association with Albany Fraser, along with the recruitment of Azeem, Andy and David really represents a key moment for us. Building on our current offering within Scotland, this move builds us a more significant place within the Scottish market and opens the door to new clients and fantastic new legal talent, as well as affording us enhanced expertise for the firm within the retail and franchising sector.”

ENDS

David Morton
Partner - Finance
David Morton is a Partner Solicitor at Spencer West. He specialises in all aspects of transactional finance, acting for lenders and borrowers.
Azeem Arshad
Partner - Commercial Real Estate
Azeem Arshad is a Partner Solicitor with Spencer West. He specialises in commercial real estate - leasing (with particular expertise in occupier work), investment acquisitions and disposals, new build commercial developments (with particular expertise in retail) and portfolio management.
David Kaye
Partner - Retail & Franchising, Business Law
David Kaye is a Partner Solicitor at Spencer West. He specialises in Franchising, Governance & Company Secretarial
Andrew Fraser
Partner - Franchising, IP and Commercial Contracts
Andrew Fraser in a Partner Solicitor at Spencer West. He specialises in Franchising (UK and International), Commercial Contracts, Intellectual Property