Conveyancing: Reduction in firms but not practitioners
Conveyancers are set to experience a “sharp decline” in transaction volumes this year amid further consolidation in the market, new research has shown.
However, despite the increasing dominance of large firms, they are not the most efficient, figures show.
Taylor Rose was the law firm that recorded the most completions in the year to 31 March 2025 – 16,714, a 2.35% market share – followed by ONP (9,531), Setfords (8,600), Davisons (7,639) and Gorvins (6,678).
Access Legal’s State of the UK Conveyancing Market 2025 [1] recorded that the only reason transaction volumes rose by 5% was the stamp duty land tax holiday which ended on 31 March.
A sharp decline in volumes was likely to follow the spike in March, with house prices falling in April – there was a clear correlation between the two, the report said.
“With inflation creeping up and expected to rise throughout the year, we’ll likely also see interest rates rise and therefore a tough winter could be in store for conveyancers as demand for conveyancing dwindles.”
The 711,371 completions in the year were still 17% below the levels seen in 2022-23. Yorkshire & The Humber saw the biggest increase in transactions last year, while the North-East and South-West saw falls.
The number of active conveyancing firms dropped again, by 2%, although less than the 4% seen in each of the previous two years. There are now 4,059 conveyancing practices, but the number of practitioners has not declined.
The 41 largest firms – ie, the top 1% – had a market share of 22%.
The report found that the firms with the highest transaction volumes all have “a national reach, but a local focus” – 13.8% of firms are active in all areas of the country, up from 12.3% last year, accounting for 57.6% of all transactions, nearly three percentage points higher than a year earlier.
There were also fewer firms operating in just a single location, with those that did completing very small numbers of transactions.
There were 37% more firms completing between 501 and 1,500 transactions and 27% more firms completing over 1,500 transactions during the year.
“However, it should be said that transaction volumes aren’t the only measure of success and smaller firms can still operate successfully with tight cost control and by operating as efficiently as possible,” the report noted.
Another measure – and one used by lenders – is the average number of days it takes a firm to submit the AP1 (to change the Land Register) following a completion.
While the overall average was 18.9 days, it was ‘mid-market’ firms (those completing 100-500 transactions a year) that were quickest, taking on average 17.4 days, and the larger firms the slowest (24.8 days).
“The way legal professionals practice is undoubtedly changing with the pace of advancement in technology only growing more rapid making it incredibly difficult for many to keep up,” the report went on.
“AI is shifting from a buzzword to a practical driver of growth. Tools that automate title checks, flag risks, summarise deeds, or triage ID documents are reducing manual labour. Mid-sized firms are now using AI to handle capacity surges, manage risk, and even guide client onboarding.
“This shift allows conveyancers to scale operations without proportional increases in headcount.”
A review of over 1,000 client reviews indicated that “whether you handle 50 cases a month or 500, the fundamentals remain the same: clear communication, professional handling, and transparency around costs”.
The report also highlighted how the compliance burden on law firms was “heavier—but also clearer in key areas”, such as anti-money laundering.
On the Law Society’s TA6 form, Access Legal recommended that conveyancers “lock down which edition you use and why; adjust workflows so sellers complete forms sooner; [and] set expectations on what the form is, and isn’t”.
The report’s author, Ryan Sparrow, commented: “Our data shows that market demand is likely to shrink or remain flat over the coming months and with changes in market dynamics, the conveyancing sector is set to become even more competitive.
“How firms react to these changes in the market will be vitally important to their success over the next 12 months.
“Firms that adapt quickly by embracing innovation, diversifying services, and strengthening their compliance frameworks will not only weather the downturn but emerge stronger when the market stabilises.”