A Bumper Decade for PLS As They Invite Clients to Say Yes PLS!
PLS Solicitors have just celebrated a huge milestone, it has
been 10-years since the then 2-man band with one phone between them first
started, but they are now one of Manchester’s top employers.
While a lot was different in 2008, not least Take That were
top of the charts and Labour leader Gordon Brown was still in office, it was
also the year that the economic crash really took hold.
As Co-Managing Director Aashim Dhand admits, “Starting a new
business in the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis probably wasn’t the best
idea.”
Regardless, PLS has grown from a 2-man enterprise located
behind (a very helpful) estate agency in Manchester, to a national brand with
over 160 staff.
Co-founder Managing Director Rob Thomas still thinks himself
lucky. He comments: “Who would have thought that our chance introduction in
2009 would have led to the success which we now enjoy with PLS Solicitors as
one of the leading providers of conveyancing services in the UK. We have grown
to become a formidable business partnership and close friends.”
While Aash and Rob Thomas celebrated with the team in the
office (pictures attached), here are ten things you may not know about PLS.
1)
PLS stands for Property Legal Solicitors, this
no-nonsense approach to legal services when buying or selling a home has led to
them to become a power house in the North-West, and further spreading
throughout the country.
2)
When Aash Dhand first started PLS he would
regularly stay up until 2am in a morning scanning home information packs. It
wasn’t long before he was ready to share the burden and after meeting Rob
Thomas, they formed a partnership that was to grow and grow.
3)
As Aash and Rob put their networking skills to
good use, soon a third member of the team was recruited and became their first
employee, Pauline Gill. She liked them so much that she stayed for a number of
years and whilst Pauline is no longer with the firm she remains good friends.
4)
Since 2008 PLS offices have moved 4 times as
staff quickly increased, before finally acquiring PLS house in 2013 and
Bridgewater House in 2015.
5)
For Aash his proudest moment was moving in to
PLS house, and then having to also acquire the building next door by 2015 as
they had managed to fill it with staff.
6)
Rob believes that new technology will set PLS
apart from the competition, his proudest moment of the last decade was
launching an app called 24/7 that allowed developers and clients to access
their documents on the move, allowing for speedy completions that set them
apart in the market.
7)
PLS have won a number of awards and have been
shortlisted for many more, from the National Customer Service Awards for
Conveyancers – the ESTAs (results to be announced soon) to the LFS Conveyancing
Awards and the Modern Law Conveyancing Awards.
8)
PLS currently handle around 20% of property
conveyancing for new builds in the North West, but they are also gaining a
reputation both nationally and internationally, with a new office in London and
a nationwide network of business development and client relationship managers.
9)
Together, Aash and Rob want to spend the next
ten-years incubating their own training academy in ‘the PLS way’ and offering
great customer service in the conveyancing and new-build services industry.
10)The
team might be celebrating, but the Managing Directors are certainly looking
forward to the future. The pair are on a mission to make the legal requirements
associated with property as easy and stress free as possible. You can follow
PLS and find all their latest news here: https://www.pls-solicitors.co.uk/blog/
Editors notes:
PLS is a solicitor’s firm with offices in Manchester and
London.
They are one of the few property legal firms in the country
to use an app with regards to completion of documents. One of the most common
complaints from people buying and selling homes, and also developers of new
builds, is the lack of communication when it comes to signing and uploading
relevant documents. With PLS you can sign wherever you are, whenever you like
and complete on the move 24/7. The PLS slogan is: Say Yes PLS.
They are currently shortlisted in the National Customer
Service Awards for Conveyancers and have launched their first training academy
for in-house trainees.
The Managing Directors are Aashim Dhand and Rob Thomas.
Aash was a Property Law Solicitor at Panonne before creating
PLS while Rob was a Property Development Solicitor at Eversheds. Their LinkedIn
profiles can be found here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aashimdhand/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertthomas3/
You can find their social media channels here: