ONE of the UK's fastest growing legal and professional services businesses has agreed to acquire a leading law firm in York.

Knights is expanding in the region by acquiring Langleys Solicitors LLP for a total consideration of £11.5m.

Langleys, which was established in 1890, brings 72 fee earners to Knights.

Staff were told at a meeting in York today, Monday, that a 30-day redundancy consultation will take place.

Completion of the deal with Langleys, which was established in 1890 and has offices in York and Lincoln, is expected to take place on March 25, 2022.

Tim Cross, partner at the independent law firm, said: “Having built a strong reputation over a number of years, now is the right time to join Knights, whose growth journey we have followed in York and elsewhere across the regions.

"We believe Knights’ scale, ambition and ability to invest will enable us to unlock significant growth potential and we look forward to achieving this as part of a larger Group.”

When asked about potential job losses as a result of the acquisition, he said it would be 'unfair to guess the figures', adding: "There are opportunities within Knights for a lot of people.

"Whenever two businesses come together there will be some duplication of roles which gives rise to the redundancy consultation. This would be no different if it had been a merger." 

The move will enable the Knights Group to further grow its operations in the east of England by moving into Lincoln.

  • Knights relocated to new offices in York in 2021 as part of growth ambitions, becoming the first commercial tenant to move into the newly-completed Hudson Quarter. The deal set a record for York office rents at £25 per sq ft for the 4,700 sq ft open-plan space that can accommodate up to 48 people.

The acquisition of Langleys is in line with the Group’s growth strategy by making carefully targeted acquisitions - the firm’s real estate and corporate offerings are closely aligned with Knights’ existing services.

Langleys has particular strength in private wealth, where there is significant growth potential.

Langleys also operates a legal aid child law (CL) business within Langleys LLP and a volume residential conveyancing business through a subsidiary, Home Property Lawyers Limited (HPL), which have five and 64 fee earners respectively.

These businesses are included in the transaction perimeter but a Knights statement said these are 'non-core' to Knights and the strategic options for them would be reviewed. 

In its unaudited accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021, Langleys reported revenue of £14m with a corporatised profit before tax margin of five per cent.

Approximately two thirds of revenue is in respect of the core Langleys business (excluding the HPL and CL businesses).

Under the terms of the acquisition, Knights will acquire Langleys from its four existing equity partners on a debt free, cash free basis for a total consideration of £11.5m - subject to working capital adjustments at the time of completion.

This comprises an initial consideration of £8m, made up of £5.25m in cash and £2.75m in 704,515 new ordinary shares in Knights, along with deferred cash consideration of £3.5m to be paid in equal instalments over the three years following completion. 

Completion is expected to take place on 25 March 2022.

David Beech, CEO of Knights, said: "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Langleys, a leading firm that has a strong cultural fit with Knights and expertise closely aligned with our existing services.

"The acquisition sees us become the leading law firm in York and provides a strong base for organic growth in the East of England through Lincoln, as we continue to strengthen our position as the leading legal and professional service business outside of London.”