International legal software provider swoops for Yorkshire-based specialist

Linetime, a Leeds-headquartered legal software supplier, has been acquired by PracticeEvolve as part of its continued growth ambitions in the UK legal software market.

Established in Leeds in 1983, Linetime has been a player in the legal software market for over 36 years. The business has developed a portfolio of debt recovery, case, practice and matter management software under its Liberate© and Debtime© brands.

Its clients include high street practices, corporate in-house legal departments and law firms in the UK top 200.

The acquirer, PracticeEvolve, provides legal practice management software to mid-tier law firms globally. It has a UK office in Woking and operations in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. PracticeEvolve plans to expand the existing Linetime office in Leeds, thus becoming the UK base of operations, and the central hub for international offices in Australia and Ireland.

David Boland, PracticeEvolve chief executive, said: “What we have found with Linetime is a product expertly crafted to cater to the needs of a UK legal practice and one that perfectly complements our product offerings.

“With this acquisition, PracticeEvolve aims to continue extending our overall market coverage, where both companies will operate side by side, each playing to their individual strengths.

“The head office will house UK product development and dedicated client support teams to ensure both Linetime and PracticeEvolve clients are well supported and our fast-growing legal-tech products are launched to market ahead of competitors.”

Tony Klejnow, managing director of Linetime, added: “Following several years of consistent growth, the business was ready to be taken to the next level. Key to this was finding a partner that shared our customer centric values and cultural identity.

“In PracticeEvolve we have found an acquirer that understands our product, understands our customers and understands the dynamics of the rapidly evolving legal software market. We’re delighted the Linetime team will be joining the PracticeEvolve group and we look forward to seeing the business continue to grow under PracticeEvolve’s ownership.”

A team of Yorkshire based advisers from Sentio Partners (John O’Gara and Andrew Barlow) and Lupton Fawcett (Daniel McCormack and Sarah Webster) supported the shareholders on the transaction.

John O’Gara, associate director at Sentio, said: “Having advised Linetime for several years, it’s been a real pleasure to watch the business grow over time to become one of the most respected brands in the legal software market.

“The strength of Linetime’s products and its high-quality customer base complement PracticeEvolve’s wider strategy in the mid-tier law firm space and allows it to continue developing as a globally competitive product.

“We’re delighted to have supported the shareholders in finding the right home for the business and with the on-going support, resource and expertise of Practice Evolve and the wider ATI Group we have no doubt the business will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Practice Evolve was advised by Peter Crawford of Freeths, with buy-side financial and tax due diligence provided by EY.