Law firm acquired by private equity-backed group

Law firm Nelsons has announced it has been acquired by a private equity-backed group.

The firm, which has offices in Derby, Nottingham and Leicester, has been bought by Lawfront.

The deal, announced to the Nelsons team on its 40th anniversary, is designed to rapidly accelerate the firm’s own growth strategy making acquisitions possible, expanding services and increasing recruitment.

The firm has said it will be business as usual for Nelsons’ clients, with all colleagues retained and the firm’s brand maintained.

Joining Lawfront builds on a long period of success at Nelsons that has seen it exceed £20 million turnover, achieve multiple Tier One rankings in The Legal 500 and make its debut ranking in The Times’ top 250 law firms for its personal injury and clinical negligence expertise.

Backed by private equity firm Blixt Group, the deal represents Lawfront’s fifth acquisition and its fourth in the last 12 months, giving it a strong foothold in the East Midlands.

Stewart Vandermark, chief executive of Nelsons, said: “It was clear early on that Lawfront was a great fit for Nelsons, bringing greater opportunities for all our colleagues and enhancing the services we can offer to our clients.

“Nelsons has consistently achieved excellent results and we wanted to remain at the forefront of the consolidating legal market – joining Lawfront ensures that for our ambitious team.

“Working with a business whose own culture and behaviours aligned with ours was key for us.

“We are excited about the next stage of our journey with Lawfront and realising the bold and ambitious plans we’ve set out to achieve.”

Neil Lloyd, chief executive of Lawfront, said: “I’m delighted that Nelsons has decided to join Lawfront.

“It is a big step towards achieving our vision of a high-quality, national legal services business.

“Nelsons is an excellent law firm, with a reputation for quality legal advice.

“Vitally, it is closely aligned with Lawfront culture, focusing on retaining the very best people in the profession to deliver the very best service to our clients.

“We enter the East Midlands with a high performance, ambitious team that will allow us to grow strongly in the region, both organically and through further acquisitions.”