Law business eyeing PE investment to fund M&A drive

MAPD Ventures, the company behind a group of law firms in the North West, has said it is exploring funding options, including potential private equity investment, as it seeks to continue its M&A-led growth strategy.

MAPD Ventures trades as MAPD Group (Making A Positive Difference) and was founded in 2019 with the aim of driving national growth at local law firms through acquisitions. The company is led by CEO Brian Cullen and COO Joanna Kingston-Davies (pictured above).

Over recent years, the company, which is backed by debt provider Shard Capital Partners, has completed several acquisitions. In 2020, it acquired Liverpool-based Jackson Lees Group and, the following year, took over Stoke-based Myers & Co.

In 2022, it acquired a 75 per cent stake in Bermans, which operates in Manchester and Liverpool, and last year acquired Thomson Hayton Winkley. It has also acquired Bromleys Solicitors and Avidity IP Holdings. Acquisitions have, so far, helped MAPD to build a network of 15 UK offices and more than 500 staff.

In its most recent accounts, for the year to May 31 2023, it reported turnover of £23.2 million, up from £15.7 million a year earlier, while increasing EBITDA 50.1 per cent to £2.3 million. Despite this, it fell from a pre-tax profit of £196,874 to a loss of £241,600. In 2024, MAPD says that it currently has annualised turnover of £38 million and around £6.6 million in EBITDA.

In a strategic report within the accounts, the company said it was planning to explore funding options for 2024/25, including the possibility of seeking private equity funding to accelerate its M&A plans. The company stated that it is in ongoing discussions over potential acquisitions and that it had a "strong pipeline of opportunities in place".

A spokesperson for MAPD commented: "It's been a rewarding period during which we have seen all nine of the brands that are part of the MAPD Group thrive.”

"Our focus remains firmly on achieving sustainable growth through acquiring like-minded, strong, profitable firms and then allowing them access to our collective firepower to flourish even further.”

"We continue to speak to a range of potential firms about joining the MAPD Group and look forward to welcoming firms into a better way of doing business in the future."


Find out about the M&A trends shaping legal sector dealmaking

Lawfront is a national legal services businesses that has been growing through private equity-backed M&A activity

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