Law firm Gateley set to go public
NATIONAL law firm Gateley is to become the first law firm to go public.
A report in The Sunday Times yesterday said Gateley had appointed bankers to advise on a £130m London float, which the firm confirmed.
A spokesperson told TheBusinessDesk.com: “I can confirm that we are going through the process.”
The newspaper quoted City sources revealing Gateley is working with the capital markets bank Cantor Fitzgerald on a listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). It suggested a float would value the firm at an estimated £130m to £140m.
Birmingham-based Gateley has offices in nine British cities, including Manchester, Leeds, and London. Its Manchester office is at Ship Canal House on King Street in the city centre.
The firm has been present in the North West since the acquisition of a large chunk of the collapsed law firm Halliwells in 2010.
The Introduction of the Legal Services Act in 2011 has allowed law firms to change the way they are structured. The legislation liberalised the way legal partnerships can obtain funding, allowing third-party investors to buy equity stakes in them.
A number of them have obtained Alternative Business Structure (ABS) status and one of the firms that has gone down this route, Irwin Mitchell, is also understood to be looking at floating.
