A consortium of private individuals is to acquire defendant personal injury firm Plexus Law from private equity owned Parabis Group, the group revealed today.

The announcement follows a revelation that talks with top-50 firm Keoghs had not ended with a deal. 

Parabis' owner, Duke Street Capital has been looking for buyers for parts of the group in an attempt to recoup a £21.4m investment in the pioneering alternative business structure. 

A statement from Parabis today said: 'We can confirm that the Parabis Group has been in negotiations for the defendant and consumer law firms with a consortium of private individuals, led Andrew McDougall and Tim Roberts, who represent the group's original founders.

'Having considered and assessed both the founders’ and Keoghs’ bids, the Parabis board, with the support of the group's key stakeholders, have entered into exclusivity with the founders.

'The sale transaction is due to complete in November 2015 and represents a positive outcome for our people and clients alike enabling our industry-leading lawyers to continue to provide the very highest quality of service and advice.' 

In a statement this morning, Keoghs said: ‘Following discussions, we can confirm that we will not be acquiring parts of the Parabis business.’

A spokesperson for Parabis denied that there was any element of distress in the sale. However earlier this month it emerged that Duke Street (pictured) had written down its £21.4m investment in the Parabis Group, which also includes Greenwoods and Cogent Law.

Keoghs declined to give a reason for not proceeding with the deal but said ‘we will only proceed [with acquisitions] if they deliver the best possible outcomes for the clients, our business and our people’. 

‘Keoghs will continue to be open to opportunities to further strengthen our position as the leading law firm for the UK defendant insurance market. Our focus is to continue to provide the highest level of expertise and advice to our clients and grow our very strong underlying business.’

Parabis was one of the first firms to seek external funding as an ABS, in 2012.