The effect of the London salary boom is beginning to be felt in Birmingham. Wragge & Co and Eversheds have set their figures for newly-qualifieds at £30,000, DLA and Pinsents say their salaries will be “competitive”, while Edge Ellison says it will be raising them by more than it was previously planning to earlier in the year.
However, the rises do not seem to be causing the same fears in Birmingham as they have down south. The attitude of Eversheds’ Birmingham senior partner Adrian Bland is typical. “They caused a sharp intake of breath, but they are manageable,” he says. “My concern is whether these rises will be sustainable in a downturn.”
Arguments about how the salary increases will be financed are much the same as in London, although the large manufacturing sector in the city, under pressure as the strength of the pound eats into margins, makes increasing rates even less of an option than it would be elsewhere.
