Moore Barlow: Guildford headquarters
Listed law firm Knights has confirmed that it is in talks with Moore Barlow, in what would be by far the biggest deal it has ever done.
Moore Barlow is a leading South-East practice – where Knights has built up a significant presence in recent years – that in the year to 30 April 2025 recorded turnover of £42m and profit before member remuneration of £12m. It has 450 staff.
Created in 2020 by the merger of Moore Blatch and Barlow Robbins, its accounts show slow revenue growth since. After the first year of the merger – the 12 months to 30 April 2021 – its turnover was £37m and profits £8.5m.
Knights has made 28 acquisitions since listing in 2018, with the largest to date being a £30m deal a year ago for another South-East practice, IBB Law, which had a turnover of £23m and profit of £5.5m before member remuneration.
In a statement to the stock market today in response to press speculation, Knights said: “Knights’ strategy is to build the leading premium, fully collaborative legal and professional services business across the UK regions.
“As part of this strategy, it regularly considers selected value-accretive strategic opportunities with a strong cultural fit and the potential to support future organic growth.
“Knights maintains regular dialogue with a number of law firms and confirms that it is currently in discussions with Moore Barlow LLP regarding a potential acquisition.
“However, there can be no certainty that any transaction will be agreed, nor as to the terms of any such transaction.”
Headquartered in Guildford, Surrey, Moore Barlow also has offices in the City of London, Lymington (Hampshire), Richmond (South-West London), Southampton and Woking.
Our annual review of the performance of listed legal businesses recorded that Knights did the best in 2025, with its share price jumping by 70% to 179p. It has fallen back since but leapt 12% on today’s news to 166p at the time of writing.
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