“I am thrilled with our successful cooperation, and I am really willing to recommend your firm to my friends.”
“I would like to express my profound gratitude to your firm for the invaluable assistance in helping us successfully achieve our goal of purchasing such a nice house. Your exceptional support and commendable expertise have made a significant difference, and I am incredibly grateful for that! Thank you sincerely!”
“I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Zhu's team for delivering an excellent legal opinion report within a remarkably short timeframe. I indeed hope that we have the opportunity to collaborate again in the future.”
“Your dedication to keeping us well-informed at all times is truly commendable. We sincerely appreciate the outstanding level of service you have demonstrated, and we look forward to the opportunity of working together again.”
Cruickshanks was established in 1992 by John Cruickshank who is a Solicitor - Advocate and Privy Council Agent. The practice was joined by Dr Xiaojiu Zhu in 2002, a UK qualified solicitor and Mandarin speaker, and James Craven in 2016.
Cruickshanks provides legal services to UK and overseas businesses and individuals. We pride ourselves in providing high quality work with a personal touch.
We are delighted to announce that on 17 March 2026 we signed a business transfer agreement with Burlingtons Group Limited (the “BGL”).Our team will be joining BGL from 1 April 2026.This merger with Burlingtons provides a stronger platform for future growth and enhances our ability to serve both our existing and new clients. It marks the continued development of our Asia business, reinforces our commitment to the region, and represents a significant milestone in the expansion of the global practice. We are delighted to be entering this next phase with confidence and ambition.“By combining Cruickshank Limited’s experience and client dedication with Burlingtons global reach and regulatory expertise, we will deliver a single, unified Asia Desk that is the largest in the UK.This transaction represents a major step in our strategy to focus on expanding our core business throughout Asia while ensuring the Cruickshank team continues to thrive under new ownership”Deborah Mills, CEO, Burlingtons Group Limited.“We are very pleased to be merging with Burlingtons on 1st April. The transfer agreement between Cruickshank Limited and Burlingtons provides a strong, highly knowledgeable platform which ultimately benefits our clients with a combined wealth of knowledge across multiple jurisdictions and legal services”.John Cruickshank, Founder and Director, Cruickshank Limited.“This merger enables us to offer both existing and future clients a broader range of services and stronger support—while clients continue working with the same trusted team. We look forward to expanding Burlingtons’ global reach and supporting clients across Asia and beyond with enhanced capability and insight"Dr Xiaojiu Zhu PHD MBE, Director, Cruickshank Limited
The government's ban on charging ground rent on leases in England and Wales comes into force on 30 June 2022.-Ground rent charges will be banned on most new residential leases from 30 June 2022.-Ban will put an end to increasing annual costs.-First step in government reform package to create fairer housing system, levelling up opportunities for more people.-The prohibition on ground rents in these leases will not come into force before 1 April 2023. -From 30 June 2022, anyone buying a home on a new long lease will now be freed from the annual costs. Landlords will be banned from charging ground rent to future leaseholders. However, The Act will not apply to leases granted pursuant to a contract entered into prior to commencement of the Act, and it is subject to lease beyond 21 years.-There will only be selected exceptions from this Act. These are tightly defined and include applicable community-led housing, certain financial products and business leases. -The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act will also restrict ground rent to zero on retirement properties, to ensure that those who live in retirement housing benefit from the same reform as other leaseholders. The changes to ground rent for retirement properties will come into force no sooner than 1 April 2023.For existing leaseholders (of both houses and flats) who choose to extend their leases through the non-statutory (‘voluntary’) route, the ground rent will now be restricted to zero (‘a peppercorn’) on that newly extended term, under the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act. Millions of leaseholders will be given a new right to extend their lease by 990 years without the ground rent.
Dr Zhu won the “2022-2023 Impact World Chinese Award" sponsored by Phoenix Satellite TV Group and a number of influential Chinese media organizations, jointly recommending outstanding Chinese who have achieved excellence in their fields with world influence. Dr Zhu was the president of the UK Society of Chinese Lawyers for several years. She had
