Figures drawn from a survey of lateral moves within legal and accountancy in the UK show that private wealth has been a busy area.

An analysis of lateral moves in the UK made by tax and private client professionals at law firms, barrister chambers and accountants shows that a quarter of partner shifts happened in the private wealth arena.

The figures reflect strong demand for private client and wealth specialists, according to the executive search firm Wilkinson Partners and Withers, the law firm. A total of 65 lateral moves were analysed.  

The report, said by its issuers to be the first-ever analysis of partner moves within the UK tax and private client sector, showed that 23 per cent of appointments were private wealth specialists, 14 per cent accounted for tax litigation professionals and 50 per cent, corporate tax. The study found that 83 per cent of hires took place in London, versus 17 per cent in the regions.

Recent client conversations point to a regional market that is becoming busier and they expect leading hubs such as Birmingham and Manchester will look for increased lateral talent over 2015, the report said.

"The findings are very revealing, suggesting that private wealth advisors are back on the agenda for law firms and accountancy practices. It is no great surprise to see hires within the industry dominated by corporate tax partners; what stands out are the other active areas in the market, and the research findings confirm our own recent experience,” Tom Wilkinson, managing partner of Wilkinson Partners, said.  

“We are seeing many firms that scaled back their private client practices, or cut them altogether, recognising that there is significant demand for these services and trying to rebuild teams. Tax litigation experts are also in demand as HMRC gets increasingly active and powerful in its anti-avoidance measures," Wilkinson said.

The report stated that despite gender diversity targets woven into the strategic growth plans of firms, current statistics for professional women remain low.

Withers' employment law partner Daniel Isaac said: "The survey also examines the gender split in last year's partner moves. Only 26 per cent of the lateral hires were women and one could draw several conclusions from this, but the statistic should be considered against the fact that 15 per cent of law firm partners and 17 per cent of accountancy firm partners are female. Considering these low levels of representation, this shows that women proportionally moved more than men last year and it will be interesting to track whether this changes in next year's survey."