BEING “called to the bar” has taken on a whole new meaning after a refurbishment transformed an old Victorian Bury pub into plush new offices for a firm of solicitors.

Silverdale has invested more than £100,000 in the building and the recruitment of staff at its newly-opened base in Bell Lane, Bury.

The business is located at the site of the former Old Blue Bell. Infact, the building was so dilapidated that the renovation took around one year to complete.

Mayor of Bury, Cllr Joan Grimshaw, officially opened the new office and other guests included business and community leaders and fellow professionals from the legal sector.

Silverdale was established seven years ago when it opened an office in Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester.

Partner Mr Saj Amin said: “We’ve been settled in Manchester since 2006. We have quite a few clients in Bury and the idea is to develop our existing area together with forming new client relationships in Bury.

“We have eight current staff in Bury and have recruited five new staff.

“We realised that we are living in uncertain times with the economy, and opening a large new office now would be a challenge. The economic outlook is not great, our country is facing many challenges, and there is a big shake-up of the legal industry too.

“We are, however, confident that with the plans we have in place that the investment we have made in Bury will be worth every penny and we look forward to working with out local community.”

He added: “We are looking to bring jobs and investment to the local area and can proudly say that most of the new staff that we have recruited are from the Bury area or have previously been long associated with the town.

“We have a history of supporting the local community which is demonstrated by the work we did in Manchester. We supported youth projects, local schools, sports clubs and we look forward to furthering this relationship with the communities of Bury.”

Silverdale offers a host of legal services including conveyancing, family law, accident injury claims, immigration, landlord and tenant law and debt recovery. Mr Amin said the company was looking forward to expanding even further in the future.

Commenting on the old pub, which now houses the new Silverdale office, he said: “Whilst we have changed many features inside to modernise the building, we have kept key parts to try to maintain some of the history.

“The building itself dates back to 1899 and was built by Alfred Crowther and Co Ltd who had their brewery across the road. There has been a Blue Bell pub on the site since at least 1800.”