Mills & Reeve in Cambridge and Norwich is rated by The Legal 500 as the market leader in Banking and Finance advice.

William Roles and Laura Holdaway at Mills & Reeve are said to ‘balance technical expertise with commercial awareness’, and Ian Benson (‘good quality without City prices’) and Zak Virgin are also recommended. Recent work includes advising the FSA on a £100m credit facility.

In the second tier is Birketts. The guide says: ‘Terrier and hardnosed litigator’ Mark Henry heads Birketts’s team, which is newly appointed to panels of HSBC and Santander. Adrian Seagers and Adrian Possener personify the ‘excellent service and personal approach’.

In the same tier, James Allen is one of three partners at Taylor Vinters with ‘real sector knowledge of lending arrangements’. Clients include HSBC and Co-operative Bank.

Neil Harpham’s team at Hewitsons, which advises Co-operative Bank and NatWest locally, is described as ‘proactive, with extraordinary depth of experience’. Tim Richards is noted for his attention to detail.

Howes Percival is noted for its ‘excellent communication and added value’, thanks to the ‘accessible, efficient’ Tessa Haskey and ‘positive, commercial’ Robert Colman. Panel appointments include Bank of Scotland and Svenska Handelsbanken.

Kester Cunningham John’s Ron Clare and Edward O’Rourke provide ‘high-quality advice with a commercial edge,’ the guide adds.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: James Allen, Taylor Vinters