BRITAIN’S largest network of independent recruitment agencies has selected a Hampshire commercial law specialist as the preferred legal advisor for its south region.

Graeme Quar & Co, which has its head office in Fareham, was appointed by The Employment Agents Movement (TEAM) following a rigorous tender process.

The 12-strong firm will provide employment and recruitment law advice through TEAM Legal, which comprises leading law firms across the UK and offers the service to members across 450 locations at discounted rates.

“We’ll be advising on everything from terms of business to employment contracts in a complicated compliance climate where legal expertise is ever more important,” said managing director and founder Graeme Quar.

“To be appointed the preferred legal advisor for TEAM’s South Region, following a rigorous tender process, is a great honour and is a fantastic start to 2013.

“The recruitment sector is reportedly worth £27bn to the UK and is very much the backbone of a flexible labour market in this extraordinary financial and economic era, enabling companies to bring in extra hands when demand dictates.”

TEAM chairman Simon Garbett said: “There is a growing need for our members to keep abreast of changing legislation in employment and recruitment so they, and importantly their clients, don’t inadvertently fall foul of increasingly complex rules and regulations.

“The appointment of Graeme Quar & Co will further enhance our TEAM Legal service provision for members in this region.”

TEAM was started up several years ago as a group of independent agencies with an informal trading relationship, out of which the concept of TEAM was born.

Through the combined buying power of TEAM, members also benefit from advice from other service providers, ranging from accountancy and job boards to insurance and IT.

Graeme Quar & Co’s appointment follows a record 2012 for the firm, which saw turnover rise by nearly 30 per cent.

Late last year the firm made headlines in the Daily Echo by advising on the £6m sale of what was London’s most famous fashion shop in the late 1960s – the Beatles’ Apple Boutique at 94 Baker Street.