Barratt Homes has put the finishing touches to its regional legal panel, with the housebuilder almost halving the number of firms on its roster.

The company has cut its panel – which does not cover mainstream corporate work – down from around 40 firms to 19 as a result of the review, which was completed over the summer. All of the successful firms will sit on the panel for three years.

Osborne Clarke has emerged as one of the winners in the review, having won spots advising six of Barratt's 24 regional offices.

The top 50 UK law firm will advise on all aspects of real estate legal advice including planning, tax, environment, litigation, construction and plot sales nationally as well as in Bristol, north London, Southern counties and south Wales. It will also advise Barratt subsidiary David Wilson Homes in Bristol and Hungerford.

Shoosmiths has been appointed to four of the divisional panels, with Eversheds, Freeth Cartwright and Clarke Willmott also winning spots on the new-look roster.

Wragge & Co, which has been one of Barratt's key advisers in the past, has not won a place. However, it will continue to advise on mainstream corporate matters.

Slaughter and May is one of Barratt's key corporate advisers and recently advised on its £720.5m rights issue with equity capital markets partner Kathryn Davis leading the team.

David Powell, relationship partner and head of residential at Osborne Clarke, commented: "With the house-building sector beginning to recover from the downturn and the Government's continued focus on increasing the UK's housing stock, now is a great time to be involved in the sector."