A redundant March bank has been given a fresh lease of life thanks to law firm Fraser Dawbarns who officially opened their new offices in High Street with a prestigious launch party on Friday.

The firm has invested a huge amount of time and money to create modern, spacious offices to enable them to continue to expand in what was previously the HSBC bank.

The building, which has undergone a transformation inside and out, has also returned to its past identity reclaiming its previous name of Marchmont House.

Introducing MP Steve Barclay, who unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion, member solicitor Steve McGregor said how pleased he was to see so many people attending the afternoon event.

Mr Barclay said how great it was to see such a major investment being made in a business in March.

“I think this is very significant for March and sends out a very positive message to the community in terms of the firm’s commitment,” he said.

Tony Cheetham, senior partner at the firm, said the building had not been his original choice for new offices.

He said: “We were searching for premises in March for quite a long time. I had actually rejected this building entirely, and thought it was hopeless and had no chance. It was quite a mess.”

But he said other partners in the firm were more impressed by the building’s potential and he said: “It just goes to show how wrong you can be with first impressions. It is a real improvement to the street scene.”

He said it was ‘quite a complex process’ to convert the building from redundant bank to gleaming legal offices.

Mr Cheetham said the building even lacked internal stairs to get from the ground floor to the upper floors, with the only access via the fire escape at the back of the building.

He paid tribute to Walker Construction Ltd and in particular Trevor Watson and Andy Dewing, who did such a ‘tremendous’ job to breath new life into the building.

Mr Cheetham explained there were many other obstacles encountered during the building works including lots of asbestos.

“There was asbestos everywhere, and every time it was found we had to stop work until the specialists had been in to clear it, but I have to say it was well worth it in the end,” said Mr Cheetham.

He continued: “March is an important town for Fraser Dawbarns. It is great to be here to service the population of March. We have invested a lot of money and brought a lot of people to show the commitment we have for the community - to show we are here to stay and are committed in the future for this town.”

Mr Cheetham also praised the staff who suffered disruption during the process of moving the ‘few yards’ down the road to the new premises.