‘We want to be the regional magic circle firm,’ says Knights CEO
Regional law firm Knights saw revenues jumped by some £14m in the second half of 2020, up to £46.2m from £31.9m in H1, and the positive year has only fuelled the firm’s ambitions.
The promising results were in part delivered in part by the successful remote acquisitions of Shulmans, ASB and Fraser Brown, and the acquisition of OTB Eveling in December.
Knights employs around 900 lawyers. It moved away from the partnership model in 2012 and became a listed company just two and a half years ago.
The law firm is nationwide, and has offices in the likes of Exeter, York, Birmingham and Leeds. Unlike many large law firms it does not have a London presence – and has no intention to set up shop in the capital.
“We have no plans to move into London,” CEO David Beech told City PM, “We want to be the magic circle firm of the region.”
After a strong year despite the pandemic, Knights is looking to further expand through more acquisitions and more hires – in 2020 it recruited 18 senior fee earners, the major of which joined from top 50 law firms.
Beech said the business had no plans to downsize its offices in the wake of more home working post-pandemic, and that he expected people would work a day a week from home when coronavirus restrictions were lifted.
The CEO said he was “very optimistic” about the future, adding there was a lot of “pent up demand” for commercial activity – particularly in merger and acquisitions.
Beech continued: “Having broadened Knights’ geographic reach, our competitive position as a market leader in the regions has continued to strengthen through the period, and we anticipate that Covid-19 will accentuate the recruitment and acquisition opportunities for our resilient business in the highly fragmented market for legal services outside London.
“We remain confident in our strategy and the prospects for the group.”
‘Investors keeping a close eye’
Rob Murphy, managing director of financials at Edison Group said investors would be keeping a “close eye” on the law firm’s expansion plans and acquisition pipeline.
“Knights group entered the South West market in late 2020, began their acquisition campaign and signed new leases for offices in Leeds, Birmingham, and Nottingham in H2 20,” he continued.
“Investor’s will be interested to see if the company can keep up with current cash levels as well as profits while undertaking these ambitious expansion plans.”