Whittington: Deal good for clients
Listed law firm Knights has agreed a deal for the commercial and private wealth practices of South-East law firm Moore Barlow, with private equity-backed Fletchers picking up its personal injury, clinical negligence and Court of Protection business.
Knights, whose interest in Moore Barlow emerged in March [1], is paying £27m on a cash- and debt-free basis, with £18m on completion – expected on 1 November – and £3m on each of the first, second and third anniversaries.
This is its second biggest of 30 acquisitions since listing in 2018, with the largest being a £30m deal last year [2] for another South-East practice, IBB Law.
Moore Barlow’s draft accounts for the year to 30 April 2026 show revenue of £45m and profits of £13m; the portion of the business Knights is buying represents around £30m of the revenue, and adds around 160 fee-earners.
It is not known how much Fletchers is paying, in a deal that marks its fourth acquisition in five months, after EMG Solicitors, JE Bennett [3] and the clinical negligence and Court of Protection teams of Freeths [4].
Knights told investors: “Moore Barlow’s service offering is a close fit with Knights’ existing capabilities, particularly in real estate, private wealth and landed estates, whilst it will also bring a strong schools and charities team, one of the leading teams in the UK in the private school advisory market.”
Moore Barlow currently operates from Richmond, Guildford, Woking, Southampton, Lymington in the New Forest and a small City office. Following completion, the Woking and Guildford offices will be combined into a location in Guildford and the City office will close.
Knights chief executive David Beech said: “The acquisition gives us significantly greater scale across the South East and South Central regions… Moore Barlow is a strong cultural and operational fit with Knights.
“By combining its long-established regional reputation and talented people with our scale, broader capabilities and well-invested platform, we see a compelling opportunity to deliver further growth, enhance the service offered to clients and create more opportunities for our people.”
Ed Whittington, managing partner of Moore Barlow, added: “The combination will allow us to build on our long heritage, strong regional presence and specialist expertise, while giving our clients access to a broader range of services and the resources of a business with national scale.”
The clinical negligence and personal injury teams will join Fletchers Solicitors, while the Court of Protection team will join EMG Solicitors, the specialist Court of Protection business within the Fletchers Group.
Fletchers Group will also acquire Moore Barlow’s interest in Aspire Law, its joint venture with spinal cord injury charity Aspire. Aspire Law will become part of Fletchers Solicitors and continue to operate under its established brand.
Mr Whittington explained that the partnership had decided that partitioning the firm into two separate entities “would allow both sides to meet their growth aspirations”.
Peter Haden, chief executive of Fletchers Group, said: “Their expertise will be a fantastic addition to Fletchers Solicitors and EMG, while also strengthening our presence across London and the South East.”
Moore Barlow was created in 2020 by the merger of Moore Blatch and Barlow Robbins. Since that time, turnover has grown relatively slowly, from £37m to £45m.
Earlier this week, Knights announced it was spending £4m [5] on Thames Valley practice THP Solicitors.