New era for Fletchers Solicitors following takeover by global firm

Consumer law firm, Fletchers Solicitors, has been acquired by an affiliate of Sun European Partners, for an undisclosed sum.

Fletchers was established in 1987 by Rob Fletcher and is an award-winning law firm with offices in Manchester and Southport. It currently employs 500 people.

The acquisition of Fletchers was completed on October 20.

Sun European Partners is London-based with an international network and focuses on defensible businesses in growing markets with tangible performance improvement opportunities.

This announcement comes off the back of a record year for Fletchers, with revenue increasing by 40% and profit before tax increasing 39%.

This performance, through a period of global adversity, is testament to the resilience of the company, it said.

Rob Fletcher said: “Fletchers has been my life for the past 34 years. I am so proud of what we have achieved in that time and so proud of the people who have been part of that achievement.

“There comes a time, however, when things have to move on and I feel that now is the right time for me to pass the baton on to the next generation.

“I believe that our management team, backed by Sun, have the ability to take the business to the next level and I will be just as proud watching the future development of Fletchers from the sidelines.”

Alexander Wyndham, vice president at Sun European, said: “Fletchers is a well known and well regarded brand that has consistently taken market share.

“We are excited to partner with the firm and accelerate its substantial historic growth through investment in technology as well as undertaking a buy and build in the legal services space.”

Led by corporate partner Keith Melling, Napthens provided corporate legal advice to Fletchers Solicitors’ management team on the transaction.