Top 50 U.K. law firm TLT has elected a new managing partner to take over from longstanding post-holder David Pester.

Corporate head John Wood will take the helm of the Bristol-headquartered firm from next April, after a six-month transition period.

Pester will step down as managing partner at the end of his sixth consecutive term in office. He is one of the longest-serving managing partners in the U.K. legal market, having been first elected as the firm's managing partner in 2001.

Wood, meanwhile, became head of corporate at TLT in 2003 and is a member of the firm's executive board. In a statement, the firm said corporate revenues have doubled in the last four years as the firm has increased its corporate presence across the U.K.

Wood said in a statement: "I'm looking forward to building on David's success and delivering TLT's ambitious plans for the future. We are an entrepreneurial business with a real appetite to think differently in terms of what and how we deliver for our clients.

"With the challenges facing the sector, our independence, culture and approach put us in an enviable position to rapidly drive change in how legal services are delivered."

Managing partner Pester told Legal Week that he made the decision not to stand for re-election more than two years ago.

He said: "I had no particular reasons to stand down, but if there was a reason it would have been having a sense that businesses need to keep evolving. By the time of this election, my time in the firm would have been 20 years since opening. It made sense to me personally not to run again."

The firm said in a statement that Pester will remain at the firm in a new role "that supports the firm's continued growth".

Under Pester's 19-year tenure, TLT's revenues have grown from £8 million to £87.6 million last year, and the firm has expanded to add six new offices.

In October, the firm boosted its Scottish presence with the acquisition of Glasgow commercial property law firm Leslie Wolfson & Co.

In January, the firm's senior partner Andrew Glynn was re-elected to the role for a second three-year term.