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“Exodus” of conveyancers coming, Goldsmith Williams warns

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  • 04/03/2011
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“Exodus” of conveyancers coming, Goldsmith Williams warns
Goldsmith Williams has warned that there could be an exodus of firms from the conveyancing market, as hostility grows towards smaller operators that “dabble” in the sector.

It said that moves by the Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are likely to place increasing burdens on smaller operators, making conveyancing an unviable business option.

Goldsmith Williams highlighted that a recent Land Registry survey showed almost a third of firms it deals with made less than ten applications in 2010 compared to the thousands handled by larger competitors.

The Land Registry estimated that around 6,000 firms perform volume work, but Goldsmith Williams predicted this figure could fall by as much as half.

Pressures facing firms conducting small amounts of conveyancing work include the SRA’s plan to remove automatic insurance cover for lenders, currently being resisted by the CML, and the Law Society’s new Quality Scheme.

Eddie Goldsmith, partner at Goldsmith Williams, said: “There is now a clear and significant disparity between the specialised players and the occasional dabblers in the conveyancing sector.

“A variety of pressures are conspiring to create a perfect storm and we are likely to see a major reduction in the number of legal services providers as many begin to see conveyancing as an unviable business option, leaving only specialist providers in the market.”

He added: “The Land Registry estimates there are currently around 6,000 firms performing volume work but we might see this figure fall by as much as half as the dabblers up sticks and leave.

“We witnessed a similar trend in the broker market a few years ago, where their numbers were cut by almost two-thirds in a short period of time. Those who came out the other side were much stronger, leaner and better equipped to serve clients and the same will be true of the conveyancing sector.”

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