A Bristol-based law firm has bought an established hotel that it is now converting into its new office space, supported by a funding package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

Star Legal operates 16 offices across Wales and the South West, offering both commercial and personal legal services to clients in a range of specialist areas including family, business, conveyancing, wills and probate.

Star Legal’s Abergavenny branch is currently based in Tiverton Place, Lion Street, and the business has bought The Swan Hotel on Cross Street to support its growth ambitions and to move to a more accessible central location. Refurbishment work at the hotel is underway and the business plans to let the bottom floor to a restaurant or bar, while converting the additional floors into its new office space.

Star Legal has a current annual turnover in excess of £5million. The firm launched in Abergavenny in 2013, where it now has nine members of staff, including five solicitors. The group has over 70 solicitors and fee earners in total.

Richard Vaughan, director at Star Legal, said: “We are entering the initial stages of our refurbishment work and are looking forward to moving the team into the larger premises in March 2017. This is an exciting new chapter for the business, and we will be looking to recruit new members of staff in the New Year to help continue our growth.

“The team at Lloyds Bank fully understood what we were trying to achieve and we will not hesitate to work with them again in the future as our practice continues to grow, both in Abergavenny and across Wales and the South West.”

Duncan Edler, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The new premises has given Star Legal the chance to move its business to a much busier area in the heart of Abergavenny’s historic market town, and the new location will allow the business to expand and give it the space to focus on providing quality legal advice to its clients.

“Our sector expertise helps us provide businesses like Star Legal with the tailored support they need to thrive. To underline this, we’ve increased our net lending by £1.8billion to SMEs and Mid-Market companies in the 12 months to September 2016.”