Frenkel Topping buys legal consultancy for £1.48m

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Frenkel Topping buys legal consultancy for £1.48m

Frenkel Topping has purchased legal costs consultancy Bidwell Henderson Costs Consultants in a deal worth £1.48m.

Bidwell Henderson, which is based in Derbyshire and Newcastle upon Tyne, specialises in high-cost case plans and claims, and legal aided matters.

It was established in 2014 and employs 55 individuals across its two offices. 

The firm will receive £1.48m, of which £0.74m is payable on completion and the balance of which will fall due in two equal amounts of £0.37m on the first and second anniversary post completion.

An additional earn-out will also be payable in 2024 if certain targets are met. 

The deal is between Frenkel Topping and owners of Bidwell Henderson, Mark Bidwell, Rebecca Bidwell and Ann Delaney. The sellers will remain within the group to enable Frenkel Topping to “develop and maximise the cross-selling and up-selling opportunities”.

The purchase comes as last year, Frenkel Topping raised £13m as it set its sights on further acquisitions in the personal injury and clinical negligence markets. 

In February, the firm secured two acquisitions worth a combined £9m as the advice firm doubled down on its growth efforts in these markets. 

In an update to the stock market today (August 17), Frenkel Topping said the acquisition was firmly in line with its strategy to pursue quality opportunities and drive consolidation of the pre-settlement professional services marketplace in PI and clinical negligence. 

Richard Fraser, chief executive officer of Frenkel Topping, said: “I am delighted to welcome Bidwell Henderson to the group. Over the past seven years Mark, Ann and Rebecca have built a leading legal costs consultancy and were well known to the group prior to discussions around the acquisition. 

“This acquisition is in line with our strategy of maximising touch points in the PI and clinical negligence space with the added benefit of being able to sell Frenkel Topping services into existing Bidwell Henderson clients and look to further the AUM growth of the group."

For the year ended March 31 2021, Bidwell Henderson generated revenues of £1.56m, reporting £0.4m in profit before tax and £0.4m net assets.

The firm has been running the legal aid costs agency across England and Wales over the last seven years. It covers specific areas of law such as complex public and private family, housing, judicial review, court of protection, abuse and clinical negligence cases. 

“Given the close links Bidwell Henderson has to law firms this represents a clear opportunity for Frenkel Topping to offer its other services such as expert reports in addition to the court of protection work and traditional legal costing that both the group and Bidwell Henderson undertake,” the update said.

Rebecca Bidwell added: "We could not be more delighted to become part of the Frenkel Topping Group. Bidwell Henderson is a growing business providing an array of legal services to lawyers. We have strategic and ambitious plans for the future. 

“Becoming part of the Frenkel Topping Group will help us achieve those goals quicker and provide additional opportunities for our team.

"With the help of our bespoke and comprehensive in-house training programme and our exceptional team members, we are looking forward to bringing new opportunities to the market and being able to support more lawyers."

sonia.rach@ft.com

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