An investment vehicle set up to acquire law firms has announced another purchase – saying it is looking for others in need of 'rocket fuel'.
The MAPD Group said its capture of Liverpool and Manchester firm Bermans is likely to be the first in a series of acquisitions this year.
The group has taken a 75% stake in Bermans, which will keep its brand and all 70 staff, with the existing partners retaining a 25% share.
It joins north west firms Jackson Lees and Broudie Jackson Canter, as well as Stoke practice Myers & Co, under the MAPD (Making A Positive Difference) umbrella. The group will now have a turnover of around £24m and its owners Brian Cullen and Joanna Kingston-Davies say they are in talks about similar deals to expand the business nationwide.
These firms, the company says, must fit the model of successful practices looking for extra operational and financial support to propel their businesses forward.
Cullen, who joins the Bermans board along with Kingston-Davies, said: ‘We see great opportunities for strong regional law firms that need the rocket fuel we can provide to take them to the next level. We believe in sustainable growth, which means investing in people, delivering great client service, providing high-quality advice and ensuring a fair profit. Bermans has all the ingredients we look for and will make for a great addition to MAPD.’
Fergal O’Cleirigh, Bermans’ senior partner, said the deal returns value to the firm’s shareholders while preserving its identity and culture. The partners agreed to the sale as a way to finance the next period of growth, he added.
Berman, a largely commercial practice with a specialism in asset and invoice finance, posted £2.76m profit before tax on a £7.6m turnover in the year ended 30 June 2021. Both profit and turnover were slightly up on the previous year.
MAPD was created in 2020 when Cullen and Kingston-Davies led a management buy-out of the Jackson Lees Group with the backing of Shard Credit Partners, which provided a £20m loan facility. More than half of this has so far been committed on the acquisitions made to date.
MAPD’s advisers were David Malone, Natasha Lackner and Craig Geraghty at O’Connors (legal), James Curtis and Connor Monaghan at DSW (corporate finance) and Andrew Cameron at Ryecroft Glenton (financial due diligence).
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