Mon, 28 Mar 2022 | BUSINESS SALE
Legal and professional services firm Knights has completed the acquisition of York-based Langleys Solicitors for a total consideration of £11.5 million. The deal, first announced in January, involves an initial £8 million consideration and a £3.5 million deferred consideration to be paid over three years.
Recent share price movements led to the announcement that the initial acquisition terms had been changed. Originally, the initial £8 million was due to comprise £5.3 million in cash and £2.8 million in 704,515 new Knights shares. However, following a drop in Knights' share price, the £2.8 million will now be paid in equal cash instalments on January 2 2023, January 2 2024 and January 2 2025.
The £11.5 million total consideration reflects approximately a 4.1x multiple of Langleys’ post-tax profits of £2.79 million for the year ending March 31 2021, generated on total revenue of £17.7 million. At the time, Langleys total assets less liabilities were valued at £4.2 million.
Langleys has been operating since 1890 and also runs a legal aid child law business and a volume residential conveyancing business, which it operates through a subsidiary. These two operations form part of the sale to Knights, but, as they are non-core to the acquirer, strategic options for the two businesses will be reviewed.
With an office in Lincoln, as well as its headquarters in York, the acquisition of Langleys will enable Newcastle-under-Lyme-based Knights to strengthen its presence in both North Yorkshire and the East of England. As well as this greater geographic presence, the acquisition of Langleys also brings 72 new fee earners to Knights.
Knights’ Client Services Director James Sheridan commented: “Our focus over the coming weeks will be to fully integrate our new colleagues into Knights and introduce them to our specialist teams and resources to enhance and broaden the services they can offer to their clients and the market in general.”
“We see huge opportunity for growth in Yorkshire and more broadly the North East. We are keen to engage with the leading professionals in the market as we look to recruit into the business to enhance our already strong offering to clients and colleagues.”
Read more about the recent surge in professional services M&A.
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