Knights acquires Langleys for £11.5m

Knights acquires Langleys for £11.5m

Legal and consulting services firm achieves 72 fee payees and private wealth consumers

Langleys Solicitors, a regional independent law firm in the UK, has been acquired by listed Knights for £11.5m.

With the acquisition, Newcastle-based legal and professional services firm Gateshead Law Group now has 72 fee payees and has significantly expanded its York office. With a team of 20 including seven partners, the firm was launched early 2020.

By going into Lincoln, which the firm describes as an attractive growth market for legal and professional services, the firm can also expand its operations in the East of England.

According to Knights, the Langleys deal is part of its overall growth strategy of acquiring targeted companies whose culture fits well with its own, with the firm's real estate and corporate offerings closely aligning with Knights' own. According to the announcement, Langleys is particularly strong in wealth management, an area in which it believes there is tremendous growth potential.

CEO David Beech said Knights will become the largest law firm in York after the acquisition, which provides a strong platform for organic growth in the East of England through Lincoln as Knights continue to establish itself as the most prominent law firm outside of London."

Legal aid child law (CL) is also carried out by Langleys LLP and home property conveyancing is handled by the firm's subsidiary, Home Property Lawyers Limited (HPL). Those businesses employ five and 64 fee earners, respectively. According to Knights, these businesses are involved in this transaction, but are not critical to the firm, so the options for their strategic direction will be explored.

According to Langleys, revenues for the 2020/21 financial year totalled £14 million. About two-thirds of the company's revenue came from its core business (excluding CL and HPL).

For the six months ending in October 2021, Knights' revenue reached £59.7m, which was 29percent higher than the first half of the 2020/21 financial year. Additionally, the company reported an adjusted profit before tax of £7.6m – 26percent higher than in the same period in 2020.

Tim Cross, a partner at Langleys, said: "Having built a strong reputation over the years, it is now the perfect time to join Knights, which we have followed throughout its growth journey in York and across other markets." "We look forward to unlock significant growth potential with Knights' scale, ambition and ability to invest, achieving this as part of a larger organization."

As a result of this acquisition, Knights has acquired 14 companies since announcing its initial public offering in 2018. In the past year, the firm has extended its presence in the Southeast by acquiring Weybridge firm Mundays, the Northeast by acquiring Teesside firm Archers Law and strengthened its presence in Yorkshire by purchasing Sheffield-based Keebles last May for £11.5 million.

Due to an increase in consumer demand for debt advice, Knights launched a debt advisory business in November 2021. It claims to be the first legal services firm in the UK to do so.