Rigby: Investment changes the pace of what we’re doing
Mourant – the Jersey-headquartered offshore group combining legal, governance and consulting services – has taken minority investment in a deal a key adviser said could open up options for other large firms.
Private equity firm MML has taken a 27% stake in Mourant Group Ltd, a holding company established last year, with the existing owner-managers co-investing “to support future long-term growth, building balance sheet firepower”.
Mourant Group will continue to wholly own the governance and consulting businesses, as well as the operational infrastructure and brand, whilst continuing to supply managed services to the separate law firm entities across the world.
A statement stressed that control of the group, and its leadership, would remain with Mourant’s existing owners, while control and ownership of the law firm entities would stay with the locally qualified partners.
The group plans further investment in technology – particularly AI-enabled systems and data infrastructure – and in people, “through enhanced career pathways and the development of next generation talent”.
Mourant will also undertake “measured geographic expansion across the world’s leading international financial centres, including through carefully selected M&A opportunities, strategic law firm partnerships and lateral hires”.
At the start of this year, fellow offshore group Walkers agreed a “strategic co-investment” [1] from Vitruvian Partners into its fund and corporate services business and also said it wanted geographical expansion.
Mourant has around 1,000 staff across offices in Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, London, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Luxembourg and Singapore.
Though not publicly disclosed its turnover is said to put it in the top 50 law firms.
Jonathan Rigby, Mourant CEO, said: “We have built something genuinely distinctive – an enduring multi-disciplinary professional services group that serves the world’s most sophisticated institutional clients across legal, governance and consulting, all under one umbrella.
“This investment does not change what we are building. It changes the pace at which we can build it.”
Robert Devonshire, a partner at MML, which he described as a specialist minority investor, added: “We are strongly of the belief that Mourant is the most compelling platform in its market. The combination of legal, governance and consulting services under one umbrella, built on a culture that consistently attracts and retains exceptional people, is rare and genuinely durable.”
David Morley, the former Allen & Overy senior partner who is now a principal of Dejonghe & Morley, a consultancy for law firms and investors, advised Mourant on the deal.
He wrote on LinkedIn: “The structure is as interesting as the deal. Mourant wanted growth capital and an active growth partner while its owner-managers kept control, and those owner-managers are co-investing alongside MML.
“Minority investment remains rare in the legal sector. On the evidence of this deal, it is likely to become a more important part of the options open to larger firms, particularly those looking for a growth partner rather than a buyer.”