Solicitors · 9/10 King Street, Ludlow · SRA 533974
Lawyers in Ludlow, since the 1960s.
Greens have been established in Ludlow for nearly sixty years. This is not a branch office of a firm whose main focus is elsewhere: the lawyers are here, on King Street, a few doors from the Buttercross. Andrew Whittle, admitted in 1991 and at Greens since 2004, has the conduct of every matter he takes on, with paralegal Olivia Powell on the conveyancing files and a support team carrying 45 years of experience between them. Property, wills and probate, litigation, and the working affairs of south Shropshire.
Most of a town’s legal life passes through this office.
Written the way clients ask for it, with the formal name above each door.
RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCING
Buying or selling a home
Sales, purchases, leases and tenancies, with scale charges published in full so you know the cost before you commit. Olivia Powell runs the day-to-day of the conveyancing files.
Scale fees from £1,200 including VATPRIVATE CLIENT
Wills, probate and powers of attorney
Wills, inheritance tax planning, trusts, deputyships and estate administration, from a grant-only application to the whole estate. We liaise with your accountant and financial adviser where it helps.
Grant-only or full administrationLITIGATION
Disputes and court claims
Divorce and financial arrangements, personal injury, county court and High Court claims, commercial litigation. We weigh the cost of a remedy against what it wins you, and say so plainly before you spend.
County Court and High CourtCOMMERCIAL & AGRICULTURAL
Farms, businesses and partnerships
Commercial and agricultural sales and purchases, commercial leases and assignments, partnership disputes and debt recovery for the working businesses of south Shropshire.
Sales, leases, partnerships
HOW A MATTER PROCEEDS · NO MYSTERY IN IT
Four stages, told straight.
Most people instruct a solicitor a handful of times in a life. Here is what actually happens.
1
First conversation
Call 01584 873918 or write to Andrew. Tell us what has happened in your own words. We will tell you whether it is something we do, and who in the office would handle it.
2
Scope and cost, in writing
Before any work starts you receive a letter setting out what we will do and what it will cost: on our published scale where one exists, at £265 an hour plus VAT where it does not.
3
The work, with one named lawyer
Each lawyer has the conduct of his or her own matters. The person who opens your file is the person who answers your calls, with a secretary who knows the file when they are mid-meeting.
4
Conclusion, no surprises
The matter closes with an account of what was done and what it cost, matched against the letter you started with. If something changed along the way, you heard about it at the time.
FEES, PLAINLY · PUBLISHED, NOT NEGOTIATED
The conveyancing scale, in full.
Few firms publish their charges. Ours have been public for years: this is the whole table for pre-existing freehold sales and purchases.
Sale or purchase priceCostsVATTotal
Up to £250,000£1,000£200£1,200
£250,000 to £300,000£1,050£210£1,260
£300,000 to £350,000£1,150£230£1,380
£350,000 to £400,000£1,250£250£1,500
£400,000 to £450,000£1,350£270£1,620
£450,000 and aboveOn requestCall 01584 873918
Leasehold sales and purchases and new-build purchases carry an additional scale charge of £300 plus VAT. Work not covered by a scale runs at the principal’s hourly rate of £265 plus VAT, agreed in writing first.
Probate is priced the same open way: a grant-only application or full estate administration, with disbursements itemised, probate court fee £276, office copies £3 each. Ask and we will set it out for your estate before you instruct us.
CHECK A FIGURE
What would our fee be on your sale or purchase?
£1,200£1,000 costs plus £200 VAT. The figure from the table, not an estimate.
Figures are our published scale charges for pre-existing freehold matters, including VAT at 20%. Disbursements such as search and Land Registry fees are extra and itemised in your letter.
PEOPLE · THE WHOLE FIRM, NAMED
You will know exactly who has your file.
SOLE PRACTITIONER · SOLICITOR
Andrew Whittle
Admitted in 1991, Andrew practised in Birmingham and Leicester before joining Greens in 2004. He began in litigation, employment and family work, remains active in all three, and now acts primarily in commercial and residential property. A member of the Law Society, a keen follower of Leicester Tigers and Leicester City, and the founder of Here to There Productions, the Ludlow theatre company he has run since 2013, staging Shakespeare at Ludlow Castle among much else.
“I am still very much a solicitor. That is the day job.”
Andrew, asked about the theatre company, 2024
PARALEGAL · CONVEYANCING
Olivia Powell
Olivia joined Greens in 2015 as an administrative assistant on the conveyancing side, then studied land law and conveyancing practice and passed the qualifying examinations to become a paralegal. If you are buying or selling through us, Olivia is the person moving your file forward day to day.
45+
SUPPORT STAFF
The team behind the desks
A support team with over forty five years of experience between them. Each lawyer has a dedicated secretary who knows the files, which is why a phone call to King Street gets an answer rather than a callback promise.
PROVENANCE · NEARLY SIXTY YEARS, TWO FRONT DOORS
Six decades, two addresses, one town.
Greens was established in Ludlow in the 1960s and has never been anything but a Ludlow firm. For years the office stood at 18 Broad Street; in 2015 it crossed the Buttercross junction to 9/10 King Street, where it remains, in the lee of St Laurence’s, the largest parish church in Shropshire.
“This is not a branch office of a firm whose main focus is elsewhere.”
The firm’s own words, unchanged on its site since at least 2012
18 BROAD STREET · THE FIRM’S HOME UNTIL 2015
ANDREW IN THE BROAD STREET OFFICE · 2013
1960s
Greens is established in Ludlow. The name has been on the door ever since, through nearly sixty years of the town’s sales, wills and disputes.
1991
Andrew Whittle is admitted as a solicitor. He practises in Birmingham and Leicester in litigation, employment and family work.
2004
Andrew joins Greens at 18 Broad Street, the Georgian street running down from the Buttercross that is often called the most beautiful in Britain.
2015
The firm crosses the Buttercross junction to 9/10 King Street. On 1 November the SRA recognises Greens as a sole practice, authorised for all legal services. Olivia Powell joins the same year.
Today
A sole practice in the middle of Ludlow. Property, private client and litigation, with a support team carrying 45 years of experience between them.
VISIT · KING STREET, BY THE BUTTERCROSS
In the middle of the town, on purpose.
9/10 King Street sits a few doors from the Buttercross, the 1746 building Ludlovians call the centre of town, where King Street, High Street and Broad Street meet. St Laurence’s tower rises directly behind. Castle Street car park is around three minutes on foot.
9/10 King Street, a few doors from the Buttercross. Castle Street car park is three minutes on foot.Open in Google Maps ↗
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ARE HALF-EMBARRASSED TO ASK
Asked at the King Street counter, answered here.
What does a first meeting cost? +
Call first and tell us what the matter is about. We will tell you on the phone whether it is something we do, who would handle it, and what it would cost, before you commit to anything. Where a published scale applies, the figure is on this page. Everything else runs at £265 an hour plus VAT, agreed in writing before work starts.
Do I have to come into the office? +
No. Most conveyancing, probate and advice work runs by phone, email and post. Some documents need witnessed signatures, a will for instance, and we will tell you when that is the case. The office at 9/10 King Street is there whenever you would rather sit across a table.
How long will probate take? +
A grant-only application on a straightforward estate takes a minimum of around four months, most of which is Probate Registry processing time outside anyone’s control. Full estate administration depends on the assets: several accounts, shareholdings or a property each add time. We say so at the start rather than let a date drift.
What will buying or selling a house cost? +
Our conveyancing scale charges are published in full on this page. A freehold sale or purchase up to £250,000 is £1,000 plus £200 VAT, £1,200 all in. Leasehold and new-build matters add £300 plus VAT. The price comes from the table, not from a negotiation.
Will I deal with the same person throughout? +
Yes. Each lawyer has the conduct of his or her own matters, so the person who opens your file keeps it until the end, and a dedicated secretary can answer queries on it when they are with another client. You will not be passed from pillar to post.
