Summary: Gateley LLP, a mid-sized law firm, will be the first publicly traded law firm in the U.K.
In 2011, the U.K. Legal Services Act was passed allowing for law firms to receive external investments. While many predicted that several law firms would rush to the market, Gateley LLP is the first to make it official. There have been other U.K. firms to apply for alternative business licenses but none have finalized the process.
Gateley formed in 2006 through a merger between Birmingham-based Gateley Wareing and Scottish firm Henderson Boyd Jackson. They now have six offices around England and one in Dubai. There are 81 partners that focus on commercial shipping, transport, construction and insurance. The partners will keep 50.1 percent of the shares and have agreed to a 12-month lock up, after which they will go another 12 months by selling their stock only through the firm’s broker, Cantor Fitzgerald Europe.
After Gateley becomes the first U.K. law firm to sell shares, it will be valued at 140 million pounds ($218 million). The firm is hoping to raise 10 million pounds in their first public appearance on London’s AIM. Gateley reported revenue of 54.6 million pounds last year with an adjusted profit before tax of 7.4 million pounds. The http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-12/gateley-llp-to-be-first-u-k-law-firm-to-list-on-stock-exchange
Photo: dmu.ac.uk