Private equity investor Smedvig Capital has confirmed it has pumped £4m into probate company Kings Court Trust.

The investment in the Bath-based probate and estate administration service provider is the venture capital firm’s first move into the legal market since the advent of the Legal Services Act.

Mayfair-based Smedvig already has a £6.8m stake in conveyancing provider myhomemove, whose in-house firm Premier Property Lawyers was the first ever alternative business structure when it received a licence in October 2011.

A Smedvig spokesman confirmed the £4m investment in Kings Court Trust after a long search for suitable partners in the legal market.

He added that the firm would continue to look for other opportunities to invest in the sector.

Smedvig specialises in investments between £2m and £10m in UK and Nordic businesses across several industries. It was founded in 1996 and has invested more than £500m in the likes of Streetcar, Lovejuice and Vinopolis.

In February last year private equity investor Duke Street acquired the personal injury firm Parabis in a £200m deal.