header-logo header-logo

19 January 2026
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
printer mail-detail

Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick

North west team expands with senior private client and property hires

Excello Law has strengthened its north west presence with the appointment of Heather Horsewood and Darren Barwick, who will work across the firm’s Liverpool, Manchester and Chester offices. Horsewood (pictured) joins as a specialist in wills, probate and estate administration, while Barwick brings experience across transactional property work, with a focus on residential and mixed-use development and secured lending.

Horsewood qualified as a solicitor in 1995 and brings around 30 years’ experience in private client work, including drafting wills, administering estates and advising on inheritance tax planning. She is well known for handling complex and sensitive matters, including high-net-worth estates and cases involving vulnerable clients. She said Excello offers ‘an exciting, modern, forward-thinking way to offer high-quality legal services’.

Barwick has more than 20 years’ experience advising developers and secured lenders on site acquisition, development funding, plot sales and bridging finance. He said Excello has ‘an exceptional reputation in the industry’, adding that the move gives him ‘the freedom to concentrate on delivering excellent client service’.

Julie Mogan, north west regional director at Excello, said the appointments reflect ‘the high calibre of lawyer who chooses Excello’, adding that the firm’s model ‘empowers senior practitioners to build their practice with true autonomy’. The hires come during a period of strong growth for Excello, which recently reported record turnover of £30.5m and continues to expand its UK and international footprint.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Winckworth Sherwood—David Fendt

Winckworth Sherwood—David Fendt

Restructuring and insolvency practice strengthened by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Billy Poulter & Shay Moore

Gateley Legal—Billy Poulter & Shay Moore

North West residential development team welcomes partner and associate

Burgess Mee—Victoria Sterritt

Burgess Mee—Victoria Sterritt

Family law boutique expands London team with legal director hire

NEWS
Pastries may be in the firing line while kebabs escape scrutiny, but the reality is far more nuanced
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming legal practice, but its successful adoption depends as much on culture as technology
Some employment law controversies never disappear—they merely lie dormant
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dillon highlights a central tension in modern public law: rights may be recognised without being fully realised
Non-court dispute resolution is no longer an alternative in family law—it is rapidly becoming the norm
back-to-top-scroll