Scottish law firm Gilson Gray has struck a deal with Knights Group to acquire Home Property Lawyers (HPL), in a move that signals the beginning of an expansion strategy outside Scotland.
HPL is a residential conveyancing specialist with 65 staff, all of whom have been retained as part of the deal, including current head of the firm Gary Tyman.
HPL joined Knights Group in January, when the latter acquired Langleys Solicitors.
Gilson Gray plans to double the head count as soon as possible and has begun recruiting in the Lincoln area and across England.
In time, HPL will adopt the Gilson Gray name.
The acquisition is in line with Gilson Gray’s acquisitive growth strategy to extend the its full service offering into new markets. It currently offers 20 service lines catering for individuals and businesses.
It recently invested heavily in the Dundee and Aberdeen markets, pursuing increasing market share in those regions.
Chair and managing partner Glen Gilson said he had been scouting the English market for suitable firms to acquire, before choosing to move forward with HPL.
“Having a UK-wide footprint, and the ability to work across multiple jurisdictions, is becoming increasingly important for top tier law firms.
“This acquisition gives us direct access, at scale, to the English market and is a move requested by many of our client base.
“It allows us to build our full service offering accordingly and, from a regulatory perspective, it makes sense to keep all our options open.”
Tyman added: “I am excited to be joining the Gilson Gray Group - it is a thriving entrepreneurial business that gives me great comfort for the future of the HPL staff, our clients and the quality of the product that we can bring to market.
“The team has a proven track record of delivering high calibre professional services initiatives and have a superb knowledge of the needs of many of our intermediary partners.
“For example, Matthew Gray, managing director for property services at Gilson Gray, was the regional head of Propertymark, the National Association of Estate Agents, thus we are able to design and deliver a relevant market-leading proposition for such clients across the UK.”
Gilson Gray is pursuing further acquisitions that will consolidate its presence in key regions of England. The firm expects to be in a position to disclose its plans later this summer.
Established in 2014, Gilson Gray has more than 200 staff across offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and North Berwick.
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