Browne Jacobson advises investor on the buyout of a national law firm

UK & Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson has advised Aliter Capital, the specialist buy and build investor focused on high growth SMEs in the UK business services sector, on its investment into law firm BBS Law.

BBS, a full-service law firm with offices in Manchester and London, has in the last two years grown through the successful completion of two acquisitions, and Aliter’s investment will now support the firm’s ambitious future growth and development plans. 

Aliter has already started to work closely with the team at BBS on a pipeline of target acquisitions, aiming to expand the firm’s regional coverage across the UK, strengthen existing services and add complementary new services. 

Aliter was founded in 2017 and focuses on small and medium sized businesses in the UK support services sector, a market valued at over £300 billion. Its approach differs from traditional private equity models by making only a limited number of selective portfolio investments to deliver dedicated hands-on support.

Founded in 1978, BBS Law offers a comprehensive range of legal services, including Corporate, Commercial, Property, Secured Lending, Private Client, Employment and HR, Litigation and Family Law. The firm has a particular focus on high growth SMEs, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals. 

The Browne Jacobson team was led by partner Ryan Brown and included associate Miranda Foy who advised on corporate matters with Ryan. Partner Graham Ball, associate Beth Nixon and senior associate Thomas Donohoe advised on banking matters, with senior associates Lucinda Chaplin and Craig Thomas advising on employment and tax matters respectively. 

Ryan Brown, Partner at Browne Jacobson, said: “This is the latest in an increasing number of transactions our multi-disciplinary team has advised on in professional services. It was fantastic to support the Aliter team and we look forward to continuing to grow our relationship with both Aliter and BBS Law as they embark on their M&A journey.” 

James Davies, Investment Director at Aliter, said: “Aliter is the ideal partner for BBS, bringing a track record of driving growth, access to capital for further expansion and specialist knowledge and experience of BBS’ main target markets.

We’d like to thank Ryan and the Browne Jacobson team for their support on this transaction. They pro-actively managed all aspects of this transaction to the highest professional standards which enabled us to complete the transaction by the target date.”