Ms Balfour has experience in a broad range of rural property matters, in particular the purchase and sale of estates, farms and forestry, carbon sequestration and all aspects of estate management.

The firm has also made a round of internal promotions in its land & rural business, private client, energy & strategic land, dispute resolution, residential and commercial property teams.

Tessa Petrides, Caitlin Keegan and Arlene Taylor have been promoted to legal director; Melissa Strachan, Conner McConnell and Kevin Sturgeon have been promoted to associate, and Laura Fairgrieve, Kirsten Holmes and Sam Conington have been promoted to senior solicitor. In addition, Gillespie Macandrew has appointed two to manager positions in its finance and HR business support teams.

Chief executive officer, Robert Graham-Campbell, said: “I am delighted to announce these well-deserved promotions within Gillespie Macandrew which further consolidate the extensive depth and breadth of our talented teams in our chosen areas of practice.

“They demonstrate the continued success of our investment in developing our people throughout their careers and we thank them for their dedication to the firm and our clients.”