‘Our decision to invest in the city centre has paid off’

For the fifth time, the London Embassy was backed by law firm Smith Partnership – a company which for many years has been a staunch supporter of Derby.

Since 2018, the firm has backed embassies held at the RAC Club, the National Gallery, Lancaster House, Guildhall – and now Mansion House.

And Marketing Derby would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the company for its continued support of the London Embassy event.

Smith Partnership has offices across the Midlands region – providing a full range of legal services to business clients, including household name companies and to individual private clients.

Its headquarters are in Derby city centre – and have been for almost 40 years.

At this year’s London Embassy, managing partner Kevin McGrath, addressed the reception to talk about the power of ‘Team Derby’ in both attracting new investment and preserving what we already have.

He also spoke of his pride at being part of the Bondholder community – and raised a glass to celebrate what was Marketing Derby’s 500th Bondholder event.

He said: “As Marketing Derby Bondholders for the last 12 years it was an honour to be given the opportunity to join in the celebrations for this very special 500th Bondholder event.

“Bondholder events present a unique opportunity for businesses large or small, new or established to showcase their businesses and I always come away from them amazed at the entrepreneurial talent this city has to offer.

“The London Embassy event is always the highlight on the Bondholder calendar and in hosting the event at Mansion House, the Marketing Derby team raised the bar once again.”

Smith Partnership’s commitment to Derby city centre is underlined by the fact that while some professional services firms chose to move away from the city centre – it decided to remain – a decision which Kevin believes has ultimately paid off.

He said: “We are passionate advocates of the city of Derby and, in particular, the city centre. We became Bondholders because Marketing Derby share that passion.

“In fact, several years ago when a lot of professional service firms were piling on the bus to get out of the city, we made the conscious decision to stay put and opened our new offices on Friar Gate.

“The reason for doing that, other than our natural stubbornness, is that we listened to what Marketing Derby and others were saying to us about the regeneration of the city centre.

“There may have been setbacks along the way and things always take longer than you would hope but with £1.93 billion having been invested in the city centre since 2011 and another £706 million in the pipeline things really are starting to change.

“Whether it’s the Cathedral Quarter, the new performance venue or the redevelopment of Friar Gate Goods Yard just over the road from our offices, these are exciting times to be in the city.

“The estimates are that in five years’ time we will have 15,000 prospective clients living on our doorstep in the DE1 postcode.

“Our decision to stay and invest in the city centre has definitely paid off.”