Zindani: Structural shift
Private equity (PE) invested an estimated £250m into UK law firms last year and around £80m so far this – compared to the record £534m of 2024 – but deal volume is up sharply, according to new research.
Total PE investment into UK legal services since 2019 now exceeds £1.5bn and mid-market law firms were warned that “the consolidation clock is ticking”.
According to Acquira Professional Services: “Private equity has not conquered UK law – it has bypassed the parts that were never truly accessible and is now consolidating the parts that are: scalable, process-driven, specialist and regional firms with succession pressure, accessible ownership structures and defensible revenue streams.”
In research published in February 2025, Acquira reported that PE had invested nearly £1.2bn into law firms between 2019 and 2024, with a record £534m coming in 2024.
It has updated the findings to launch a market intelligence platform, Momentum, showing that 15 PE-backed legal transactions have been completed in 2026 by early May, compared to 12 in both 2024 and 2025.
The figures include bolt-on acquisitions completed by firms already operating PE-backed platforms.
Showing how quickly the market is moving, we have reported on five more since – Fletchers taking on the clinical negligence and Court of Protection teams of Midlands firm Freeths and Express Solicitors the Sorrymate brand from Smooth Law, Orwins (the rebranded BBS Law) buying Reading firm Clarkslegal, HF buying London firm Rosling King out of administration, and today Higgs acquiring McKenzie Law.
Momentum’s analysis was that investors were increasingly targeting specialist practice areas including healthcare (HF’s deal for Hempsons) and Court of Protection (Fletchers buying EMG Solicitors).
This year, no single practice area has accounted for more than 25% of all PE-backed transactions, “reflecting a broader diversification of investor strategy across the sector”.
The report identified signs that the personal injury market may be approaching a ceiling “following years of consolidation”. Ufenau Capital Partners’ acquisition of Express Solicitors, which had revenue of £89m, was estimated to have been the largest deal of 2025.
The research noted that the long-anticipated breakthrough of private equity into top 100 UK corporate law firms has still not materialised, with no top 100 firm taking PE since DWF became the first in 2023.
Momentum’s analysis said this was not simply due to resistance from traditional partnerships.
“Instead, capital moved aggressively into scalable, process-driven, specialist and regional legal platforms. What we are observing is not simply that corporate firms are resisting PE — it is that PE has materially shifted its focus away from them.
“The expected breakthrough in corporate law has been replaced by something more structurally significant: a deliberate pivot towards managed service platforms, specialist healthcare, Court of Protection, conveyancing infrastructure and employment law businesses.
“These firm types share characteristics that corporate practices cannot easily replicate: process-driven, technology-scalable, high-volume, recurring revenue, and – critically – accessible ownership structures where one or two decision makers can conclude a deal without navigating the consensus of 40 equity partners.”
At the same time, Queen’s Park Equity taking a majority stake in Canford Law – which handles credit hire, commercial litigation and housing disrepair – “signals that smaller, focused corporate boutiques with accessible ownership structures and scalable niches are beginning to attract capital”.
Future growth was expected to come from continued expansion into specialist consumer and regional legal markets.
Acquira also warned that “the consolidation clock is ticking”.
The report explained: “Accountancy went through this cycle a decade ago. Practices that waited found themselves acquired on the buyer’s terms.
“The window for mid-market firms to engage on their own terms is narrowing. By May 2026, 8+ active PE platforms are competing for quality targets across all regions.”
Jeff Zindani, managing director of Acquira, said: “The UK legal market is no longer simply consolidating. It is being structurally reshaped by capital, scale and platform strategy.
“While overall investment values have reduced over the past year, the volume of transactions and the number of active private equity investors entering the market continue to grow.
“Investor focus is now broadening into specialist and scalable areas of legal services, bypassing the traditional corporate law practices.”
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