Listed challenger law firm Gordon Dadds swallows 150-year-old City firm Ince & Co
Gordon Dadds is set to become the largest listed law firm in England after today agreeing a deal to buy venerable City shipping firm Ince & Co for £34m.
City PM revealed the firms were in talks last month following which shares in Gordon Dadds were suspend.
Gordon Dadds, which advised The Telegraph in the Philip Green injunction case, became the second English law firm to go public when it floated last year.
Under chief executive Adrian Biles the West End firm set out an aggressive buy and build strategy, aiming to use the war chest from the float to bolt-on smaller firms to its platform and merge with similar sized or larger firms.
Ince meanwhile is a historic legal brand which was founded in London in 1870 and is best known for its work in the shipping and insurance sectors.
The firm has had a tough few years after a lucrative spate of reinsurance disputes dried up and overcapacity blighted the shipping sector.
Ince has cut partners and staff, moved to smaller offices, shaken up its strategy and chopped and changed its management in an unsuccessful attempt to stem declining revenues and profits in recent years.
Ince has been open in its search for a merger with Ince chair Peter Rogan telling City PM the firm had spoken to a “handful of firms” in its search for a deal, most often in its traditional areas of insurance and shipping.
A managing partner at a rival firm said: “They have been looking for a white knight for a long time.”
Law firm consultant Dominique Graham of Signium said: “This is a last remaining attempt to keep it together, retain some control and make a bit of money if they can.”
For Gordon Dadds the deal is truly transformational, at one swoop giving the firm an international network with offices in eight countries, a respected brand and a base in the City.
The firm is rebranding as Ince Gordon Dadds and moving its headquarters to Ince’s City base in Aldgate Tower.
Its estimated combined revenue of £110m will make it a top 40 UK firm by revenue
It is a remarkable rise to prominence for what was in 2013, when Biles joined as managing partner, a little known Mayfair-based firm focused on advising clients on issues such as divorce law and wills.
Biles told City PM that Gordon Dadds was attracted to Ince because of its “iconic brand, its global footprint and the ability to leverage off both of those things.”
He said that Gordon Dadds had spoken to “lots of firms” in its quest to find a merger partner and said that while the next few months would be focused on integration, he expected further deals in the future.
“We expect the next few months to be focused on integrating the two businesses, making the most of the merger to ensure we come out with a fully integrated, very holistic approach in 12-18 months time. However, this is a journey not a destination,” he said.
Market sources view the deal as a good result for both sides, although leaving considerable question marks over the future offering and brand of the combined firm.
A management figure at a rival firm said: “I can see what is in it for Gordon Dadds. They at a stroke become an international law firm without having to spend a lot of time and money investing along they way.
“I am glad that Ince aren’t going to disappear and that people there I know and like are put into a secure position, but whether the merger will thrive I really wouldn’t know.”