Taylor: Continuing to grow the J&P business
Kent firm Judge & Priestley has moved into the capital by acquiring Portner Law in one of several mergers and acquisitions announced this month.
Judge & Priestley, which has five offices in Kent, is taking on eight partners and around 35 other staff from Portner and will continue to operate from its central London office.
It expands the firm to around 300 staff and a turnover in excess of £25m.
Managing partner Steven Taylor said: “This merger confirms our ongoing commitment to continue growing the Judge & Priestley business.
“Portner have built a reputation assisting their clients on high-value, complex property, company/commercial and dispute resolution transactions. This will complement the substantial property department and well-regarded litigation departments operated by J&P.”
Daniel Broughton, managing partner at Portner Law, added: “The team at Portner were looking to gain from the benefits of being part of a larger practice, but it was crucial for us to find a partner with close cultural as well as commercial ties.
“We have all been impressed by the recent development of J&P and are excited to become a part of this dynamic and progressive team.”
South coast firm Steele Raymond has created a construction law offering after acquiring specialist practice Reeves James.
The new construction team will be headed by Chris Reeves, who joins as a partner – he is dual-qualified as a solicitor and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building – and is joined by two apprentice solicitors, with an associate joining later this year.
Steele Raymond has almost doubled in size in the past five years and now has 26 partners.
North-East firm TBI Law has moved into Wearside after acquiring Sunderland firm Scanlans, which is best known for its criminal law work. Fifteen staff are moving over and TBI now has more than 200 people over five offices.
The Sunderland office will be headed up by Heather Bolton, who has become a partner at TBI Law, while Lynda Scanlan will remain on-site as office manager.
Ms Bolton said the move was “a wonderful new chapter for our team”, while clients would benefit from the wider range of services from TBI.
Thames Valley law firm Blandy & Blandy is to acquire McQueen Turner in Henley-on-Thames, with Alexa McQueen-Turner joining as a residential property partner and Sidra Ahmed an assistant in the wills, probate, tax and trusts team.
Claire Dyer, chair and partner at Blandy & Blandy, said: “McQueen Turner Solicitors has been a prominent firm with a strong reputation in the Henley area for many years, primarily advising on residential property and private client matters.”
Yorkshire firm Harrowells has taken on Harrogate-based private client and property practice The Garfitt Law Partnership, with co-owners David Garfitt and Sally Robinson joining as consultants.
Meanwhile, listed law firm Knights said last week its rolling acquisitions would contribute to an 8% rise in turnover to £162m for the last financial year, with underlying profit before tax up 11% to around £28m.
In a trading update for the year to 30 April 2025, the firm said the profit figure reflected an improved margin.
During the year, it acquired West Midlands firm Thursfields Legal for £12.5m and South-East practice IBB Law, its largest deal to date at £30m.
Since the year-end, Knights announced its 24th acquisition since listing in 2018 with a £16.6m deal for Essex law firm Birkett Long that will take its annual revenues to over £200m.
Chief executive David Beech said: “During the year, Knights has made significant progress. It is now recognised as the UK’s only legal services firm with true national scale, that retains a strong regional focus.
“I am particularly pleased with the uptick in fee-earners joining the business during the year [52, compared to 40 in the previous year]. As well as our scale, the reputation we have built for quality of service and a unique culture, allows us to recruit the highest-quality talent to the business, which in turn, has driven this strong performance.
“With the Group experiencing a return to lower levels of churn in the second half of the financial year and positive momentum in the business continuing into the current year, we remain confident in delivering further growth in FY26.”
Leave a Comment