Knights reinforces leading position in Leicester

Knights, one of the UK’s fastest growing regional legal and professional services businesses, today announces that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of Cummins Solicitors Limited, the employment specialist law firm based in Leicester, from founder Michael Cummins.

Acquisition rationale and background

As outlined at the time of Knights’ IPO, the Group’s strategy is to accelerate its organic growth through carefully targeted acquisitions. Knights has a proven method of selecting, executing and integrating acquisitions, to enhance earnings and generate synergies.  Since listing, the Group has acquired Turner Parkinson in Manchester and Spearing Waite in Leicester, which have both been integrated successfully.

Founded in 2010, Cummins is a niche law firm based in Leicester, which specialises in employment law, servicing a number of high quality commercial clients. Its five fee earners will join Knights’ existing Leicester office, bolstering the strength of the Group’s employment offering. Following the acquisition of Spearing Waite in October, the acquisition of Cummins further strengthens Knights’ position as the leading legal services business in Leicester and the East Midlands.

For the year ending 31 December 2018, Cummins delivered revenue of £784k and adjusted EBITDA of £175k, a margin of 22.3% after adjusting for a normalised salary for Michael Cummins.  Following completion on 14 January 2019, Cummins will keep its branding for a short transitional period before being formally rebranded as Knights, effective from 1 February 2019.

Following the acquisition, Knights’ total number of fee earners will be 485 across its eight offices.

Commenting on the acquisition, David Beech, CEO at Knights, said: “We are delighted to welcome Cummins to the Group today (Tuesday 15 January 2019). The firm has a strong reputation which supports our growth strategy and demonstrates the momentum we are now achieving.  Michael Cummins is a respected leader in his field and the acquisition will enable us to take even more share in key geographical markets.

Michael Cummins, founder of Cummins, added: “We have followed Knights’ impressive growth story and are delighted to be joining such an ambitious Group. We believe our niche focus on employment law will be a strong addition to the Group’s offering and we look forward to further growth as part of a larger Group.”

Download the full press statement here.