NorthEdge goes legal with latest investment

PRIVATE equity investor NorthEdge Capital is maintaining momentum in its recent deals spree with a £15m investment into specialist Cheshire law firm Roberts Jackson.

Manchester-based NorthEdge, which is investing its maiden fund, has recently completed deals with Chorley-based Utiligroup and most recently Blackburn manufacturer Accrol Papers .

Its latest investee, Roberts Jackson, specialises in industrial disease litigation. Based in Wilmslow, it was founded in 2009 by corporate solicitor Oliver Jackson and his wife Karen, an industrial disease specialist, and in that time staff numbers have surged from two to 200.

The investment from NorthEdge Capital will boost the growth and development of the practice, and open up new opportunities in the legal services sector.
 
Nick Townend joins the board as finance director and Paul Hewitt as chairman alongside founders chief executive Karen Jackson and Oliver Jackson, strategy director.

Key senior managers Gladys Swaim-Rutter and Lorna Vanderkamp have been promoted to directors as part of the deal and are equity shareholders.
 
Grant Berry, managing partner of NorthEdge, director Jon Pickering, and investment manager Phil Frame led the deal. Both Me Berry and Mr Pickering have joined the board as non-executive directors.

Karen Jackson said: “This is a very exciting time for the business and we are delighted to welcome NorthEdge Capital on board as an investor.

“The introduction of Alternative Business Structures through The Legal Services Act 2007 has created interesting opportunities for firms like ours. The investment from NorthEdge will allow us to accelerate the growth of the business, capitalise on new opportunities within the market and hopefully provide many more clients with the very best advice.

“Ultimately as lawyers we are here to serve our clients to the best of our ability and this investment will enable us to build upon our existing platform within the legal services sector. This is a firm that focuses on its employees and clients and we chose NorthEdge because they hold that similar belief –they invest in people just like we do.”
 
Jon Pickering, director at NorthEdge Capital, added: “Roberts Jackson is a hugely successful business and we look forward to working alongside Karen, Oliver and the management team as the business continues to grow and develop. We are in no doubt that the coming months will see Roberts Jackson further increase its market share and continue to deliver unmatched specialist expertise.”
 
The deal is the seventh transaction completed by NorthEdge Capital from its maiden fund, which closed at £225m in March 2013, and represents over £100m of investment into the Northern businesscommunity during the last 18 months.
 
Deloitte provided corporate finance advice to Roberts Jackson, led by partner Paul Lupton with support from assistant director Iain Marlow.
 
Mr Lupton said: “Recent changes to the ownership rules for legal practices and the implementation of the Jackson reforms have created significant growth and M&A opportunities for quality law firms such as Roberts Jackson.

“We have worked closely with the management team for the past 18 months, and now with a supportive investor in NorthEdge we look forward to tracking the continued success of the business under Karen and her team.”
 
DWF provided NorthEdge with legal advice. Management received legal advice from Pinsent Masons’ Gregg Davison and Anna Whetham.
 
Financial Due Diligence was completed by BDO (Chris Heatlie and Matthew Molyneux) and commercial due diligence by Credo.
Weightmans carried out regulatory due diligence.

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