McCann: PE experience has been positive
National insurance and commercial law firm HF did not need the private equity investment it received in 2024 to buy health and social care specialists Hempsons, its chief executive and managing partner said yesterday.
Ronan McCann also said the Hempsons name would remain after the acquisition, announced yesterday and expected to be approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority at the end of next month.
Hempsons, which has around 250 staff in five offices across the country, will bring the total number of staff at the combined firm to around 1,300. It follows the deal announced in February for the alternative business structure owned by global insurance services firm Crawford & Company.
Mr McCann said the reason why HF could afford to make the purchase without relying on funds from the sale of a 30% stake to CBPE Capital in December 2024, was because of the £13m facility it had negotiated with NatWest to fund M&A.
However, the private equity investment has enabled HF to “really focus on innovation”, and this was a “huge part of the investment case” made to Hempsons. “Private equity gives us further firepower and assists with investment in technology.”
Mr McCann described Hempsons as an “incredible brand”, dating back to 1890 and with “the strongest pedigree of any law firm” in health and social care defence work.
The two firms have been discussing the deal for the past year. “I wanted to establish that the culture of the firms worked well,” he said. “The most important aspect is the culture, which takes precedence over everything else. Neither side has rushed into this.”
Mr McCann said HF was “constantly talking” to different law firms about possible purchases, but again any combination “had to work culturally”.
“My experience of private equity is a positive one,” he said. “It’s down to the private equity house I chose, that the guys are a good cultural fit, their performance metrics as a private equity house and their willingness to take a minority stake in the business.”
Mr McCann said he had heard the “horror stories” about private equity, but “my experience is as far away from that as anyone can possibly have.”
The combination of HF and Hempsons would “undoubtedly mean huge investment in legal services and seeking more lawyers”. It would also mean “efficiencies” in the firm’s administration and office structure, which were being looked at.
“This is a key strategic acquisition for us, which puts us at the forefront of new sectors and specialisms as well as enhancing our expertise in the areas where we already operate.”
Graham Lea, managing partner of Hempsons, added: “We’re delighted to be joining HF with all the opportunities it presents and adding our outstanding brand and specialisms to what makes it such a special business.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to work with our clients in the same personal, proactive way with the added benefits of first-class legal sector innovation and a broad range of additional areas of expertise.”
Hempsons acts for 180 organisations and trusts in the NHS alone, private health care providers and hundreds of individual GPs and dentists.
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