Our team advised on the sale of leading East Midlands Law firm Nelsons to Lawfront, backed by private equity firm Blixt Group (Blixt).
Nelsons is Lawfront’s fifth acquisition and its fourth in the last twelve months, giving it a strong foothold in the East Midlands from which it intends to grow further in the region, along with expanding nationally with more acquisitions of leading regional firms. The acquisition takes Lawfront’s revenue to over £45m, with market leading profitability, and is an important step in achieving its vision of building a high-quality, national legal services business.
Celebrating its 40th year anniversary on 3rd May this year, Nelsons was co-founded by Tim Hastings in a small Nottingham office and has gone on to become one of the leading law firms operating across East Midlands with offices in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham.
The business recently reported over £20m revenue with 161 legal and investment management fee earners.
Tim Hastings, chairman at Nelsons said:
“Cooper Parry has been our advisor for over 20 years so they’ve been a constant presence during Nelsons’ journey. But, this is the first time we’ve worked with its dedicated Corporate Finance Team and we’ve been delighted with the service and advice. Sachin and the team’s specialist knowledge, coupled with its understanding of our business, the sector, and how we work, helped pave the way for a smooth transaction.”
Stewart Vandermark, CEO at Nelsons commented:
“The legal sector is constantly evolving and since the pandemic we had anticipated an increasing move towards consolidation. Change has always been part of Nelsons’ DNA and having consistently achieved excellent results, we wanted to be at the forefront of this consolidating market and joining Lawfront ensures that for our ambitious team. It was clear early on that Lawfront was a great fit for Nelsons, bringing greater opportunities for all our colleagues and enhancing the services we can offer to our clients.”
SACHIN PARMAR, Associate Director at Cooper Parry Corporate Finance, added:
“Nelsons has a built a fantastic reputation as a leading regional law firm focussed on the needs of private businesses and their owners. We’re delighted to have been able to support the management team on this transaction and really look forward to seeing the business prosper in its next chapter.
The legal sector is attracting attention as a hot space for investment from private equity in addition to other players looking for synergies. This deal underlines Cooper Parry’s expertise and commitment to supporting businesses operating across the professional services space.”
