Knights makes Birmingham law firm its sixth acquisition in 18 months
Professional services group Knights has continued its acquisitive streak with the purchase of a second Birmingham law firm in just two months.
Commercial litigation specialist ERT Law and its 24 fee earners will join the expanding group after agreeing a £1.8m deal.
It is the sixth acquisition since the Staffordshire-headquartered firm became the latest law firm to float on the stock market in June 2018.
David Beech, chief executive of Knights, believes the deal “is testament to the momentum that Knights has built” since its IPO 18 months ago.
Its market value has increased from £103m to £250m, overtaking Gateley, which is currently valued at £230m.
Knights had 350 fee-earners before it went public, which has now grown to 633 following its latest acquisition.
In November Knights bought Birmingham firm Emms Gilmore Liberson in a £4.7m deal, and it now operates in nine locations between Manchester, Cheltenham and Leicester. Its previous acquisitions include Turner Parkinson and Spearing Waite.
Beech added: “This is an exciting addition to our recently acquired operations in Birmingham, which is in line with our strategy to grow our share of key geographic markets outside London.”
ERT Law was established in 1995 as Eaton Ryan & Taylor, before rebranding on its 20th anniversary. Its three founders, Neil Eaton, Kieran Ryan and Mark Taylor, still lead the firm, which generated revenues of around £2m in the year to April 2019.
Eaton added: “We are proud of the reputation we have built in Birmingham and look forward to building upon this as part of Knights, which is well suited to supporting our ambitious plans as part of a growing full-service firm in Birmingham.”
