George Davies boss has deals in mind

THE boss of Manchester law firm George Davies is considering merger opportunities as it looks to take advantage of opportunities presented by the recession.

Mark Hovell, managing partner of the Fountain Street-based firm, believes the “stuffing has been knocked out of the sector” and the fall-out will be leaner profession offering clients a better service.

He said George Davies was well-placed for the future: “We are stable in a tough market, we have no bank debt and we are looking to grow the business.

“There’s been massive contraction in the sector and there were probably too many lawyers, of differing standards, charging too much money.

“We are seeing teams of dissatisfied people from other firms and the odd niche firm that would fit with us. There are also people who have been at bigger firms and left to go it alone who want to return to a bigger entity because they want to concentrate on law and not running the business.

“Our culture is so important to us and so we will be very careful about the kind of people we bring in – we don’t want to merge and then have a blood-bath.”

A renowned sports lawyer and a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Mr Hovell has been with George Davies for all of his 19-year career.

He said the 14-partner firm would be moving to a new city-centre location within the next year, but said the10,000 sq-ft location would not be in Spinningfields, but the “central spine area”.

“We’ve discounted Spinningfields because it’s a destination best suited for national or international firms, and we are looking at a couple of options close to where we are now.”