Acquisitive law firm makes land grab as it buys property specialists
Law firm Gateley has made its third acquisition in two years, buying a specialist firm of property solicitors.
It has paid £4.15m for GCL Solicitors, a 79-strong practice based in Guildford, Surrey, which provides advice for land and property clients.
Gateley is listed on the Alternative Investment Market and has a strategy of acquiring complementary businesses. It bought tax incentives advisory business Capitus and property consultancy Hamer in 2016, a year after becoming the first UK law firm to float.
The acquisition of £6m-turnover GCL is the largest of the three deals and is the first legal business acquired by Gateley since its IPO. It is paying £2.82m in cash and £1.87m in shares, while it will also convert £1.32m of liabilities owed to the former members of GCL into loans and repay over the next two years.
The firm’s chief executive, Mike Ward, believed there are “clear opportunities across the group from this strategic acquisition, not least for Gateley Hamer and Gateley Capitus”.
He said: “The acquisition will further strengthen our leading position in the residential development sector nationally and provide us with a substantial presence in the southern market, which we see as critical in developing a full service offering for our clients.
“There is a structural under supply of new housing in the UK and we see this as a market that will remain strong. The South East in particular will continue to be a significant engine for housing growth for the foreseeable future.”
Gateley has also revealed that trading in the second half of the year to April remained strong.
It expects its full-year figures to show increases in revenue and adjusted EBITDA of at least 7%.
In a statement to the stock market, it said: “The group has recorded growth across all of its segmental reporting lines, reflecting Gateley’s strength in depth and the benefits of years of focussed investment. Another year of measured investment over the past twelve months has resulted in the group’s property and corporate businesses each recording not less than 15% fee growth.”
