One of the top 100 personal injury solicitor firms in the UK is considering external investment in the face of new regulations making it easier for legal firms to use external investors to raise capital, industry experts have recently reported.
Personal injury claims specialists Keoghs is understood to have attracted interest from LDC, a mid-market buyout firm, one source has said. However, both LDC and Keoghs have declined the opportunity to comment on the news.
There are many private equity firms on the lookout for investment opportunities in the accident claim sector, such as mid-market companies as Palamon Capital Partners, Duke Street, and Lyceum Capital. Legal firms will be cleared to go on the hunt for external shareholders in 2012 due to the Legal Services Act going into effect that year, with many in the profession referring to it as a ‘Big Bang’ for the industry.
A move on Keoghs’ part would be proof of larger law firms growing comfortable with the new changes, as the top end of the legal professional market have by and large gone on record to reject them. Irwin Mitchell, a top 20 law firm, has so far been the largest to declare interest in availing themselves of the Act’s new ‘alternative business structure’ scheme.
Also known for its talented personal injury claims division, the firm has announced its financial adviser as Espirito Santo Investment Bank in order to review its possible options in the future. Industry experts have commented that the personal injury sector is especially well suited for the new landscape following the Legal Services Act, as its relative fragmentation creates additional investor opportunity for firm consolidation.