Woolham: Confidence in specialist PI practice
Personal injury (PI) firm Minster Law has followed up its plan to more than double its turnover in five years by acquiring ARAG Law’s PI business.
With 30 people and their workload moving across, it will mean a new Bristol office for the Yorkshire-headquartered practice, which also opened a London office recently.
ARAG Law was created in 2024 when ARAG Group acquired fellow legal expenses insurer DAS UK [1], including its law firm.
It employs more than 200 people advising on a wide range of other personal and commercial legal issues.
Earlier this year, Minster Law chief executive Shirley Woolham told Legal Futures [2] that the aim was to more than double its turnover to £100m in five years, with acquisitions part of the plan.
The Wakefield-based practice – part of insurance giant BHL, which also owns comparethemarket.com – had a turnover of £43m for the year to 30 June 2025, up 16%, with profit after tax of £2.6m, compared £354,000 in the prior year.
Ms Woolham – who is speaking at our Claims Futures conference [3] in October – described the ARAG deal as “another deliberate step in our long-term growth strategy and reflects our confidence in the future of specialist personal injury legal services”.
She went on: “The PI market has changed fundamentally over recent years. What was once viewed as a relatively standard legal service has become an increasingly specialist discipline, requiring sustained investment in legal expertise, technology, operational capability and the ability to deliver consistently high-quality outcomes at scale.
“As organisations continue to assess where that capability is best delivered, we’re seeing specialist personal injury firms like Minster playing an increasingly important role. That’s not because personal injury has become less important, but because it has become more specialised.”
Mike Lowe, director of law at ARAG Law, said: “This is an excellent deal for both Minster and ARAG Law, furthering Minster Law’s strategic expansion into delivering specialist personal injury services and providing continuity for ARAG Law’s clients, colleagues and business partners.”
Meanwhile, Lancashire law firm Farnworth Rose has entered Yorkshire by acquiring fellow general practice Haighs Solicitors, which has offices in Mirfield and Heckmondwike. Nick Haigh, who founded it 17 years ago, stays in place to lead the West Yorkshire team.
Jon Batchelor, strategic director at Farnworth Rose, said: “Nick and his team share our belief that the client comes first, and that good legal work depends on giving people the time and support to do it properly.”
Mr Haigh said: “We now have a bigger team, more support and a wider range of services to call on. That means fewer occasions when I have to tell someone we cannot help, and more time for the work that matters.”
Farnworth Rose, which has more than 40 staff, is based in Nelson and entered Manchester in 2025 by acquiring Pinnington Law. It said in March [4] that it was planning to double in size in a year.