Knights, the listed legal and professional services business, has agreed to acquire Meade King, a long-established independent law firm in Bristol.
Tracing its origins to 1790, Meade King is an independent law firm serving Bristol and the South West market.
The firm has a strong corporate and real estate offering, alongside dispute resolution and private wealth practices. The acquisition adds 29 fee earners to Knights’ existing 1,500 professionals across the UK, and facilitates its entry into the Bristol market.
The acquisition complements Knights’ existing Exeter and Cheltenham offices and joins up its presence in the region, giving the Group a strong base to build a significant operation for expansion into the South West.
“It not only provides us with an entry point into Bristol”, explains James Christacos, Knights’ Client Services Director, “but it gives us a platform from which to pursue further expansion in the city through both recruitment and additional acquisition opportunities. This deal is a first step into Bristol, and we are focused on exploring larger acquisitions in the city, and recruiting high quality talent in the city to enable us to build significant scale and expand across the region.
"With very significant external investment and financial firepower, together with our strong business model and unique one-team culture, Knights is an attractive alternative for law firm partners who wish to further their careers without the financial burden of the partnership model."
Meade King is Knights’ 21st acquisition, and its 19th since its IPO in 2018. In that time, Knights has grown revenues from £35m to £125m and become the UK’s largest commercial legal services business outside London. The addition of Bristol takes Knights to 23 locations across the UK.
“We are delighted to be entering a new market as we cement our position as the leading legal and professional service business outside London. We welcome our new colleagues and look forward to working with them to strengthen our foothold in Bristol” said James Sheridan, Knights’ Group M&A Director.
James Hawkins, Managing Partner, Meade King commented:
“Having built a competitive position in Bristol and delivered strong growth over the past two years, we are thrilled to be joining Knights, which has a strong reputation in the regions across the UK. As we enter the next phase of our growth as part of a larger group, we are excited by the benefits that Knights’ scale, deep central resource and unique business model will bring to our people and our clients.”