London, UK – The Ince Group, a listed law firm, has been sold out of administration to Axiom DWFM, a fast-growing national firm. The deal was described as a “partner-driven transaction” and the financial details have not yet been released. The sale comes more than two weeks after Ince announced it was going into administration.
The administrators, Quantuma, sold the group’s business and certain assets to AxiomDWFM, which was created in 2021 through the merger of Axiom Stone and DWFM Beckman. The firm has 43 partners and offices in central London, three in Greater London, Birmingham, Bristol, and Swindon.
Ince & Co will operate as a separate entity of AxiomDWFM and will be managed independently as a separately branded firm. The transaction enables the partner group of Ince & Co to refocus the firm’s growth strategy on its core legal services, while improving operations and support structures.
Donald Brown, Chief Executive of Ince & Co, commented: “After taking over the management of the PLC group [last autumn], it quickly became apparent that we needed to address a series of poorly structured and executed transactions and expansions.”
All employees will be transferred to Ince & Co under their previous terms of employment, with existing remuneration structures honored and other material liabilities of the business funded.
AxiomDWFM’s managing partner, Pragnesh Modhwadia, said: “We have great confidence in the quality of the Ince & Co business and the lawyers within it and are very excited that, like AxiomDWFM, the firm is built around differentiated areas of great specialism, market positioning, and quality of service.”
Ince & Co is renowned for its expertise in key sectors such as shipping & energy, aviation, insurance, and real estate, along with practices such as dispute resolution, employment, immigration, asset finance, corporate services (including tax), regulatory, family & private wealth, and related areas.
Rudi Kesic, CEO of Lawtech 365 Group, a legal technology expert, commented on the importance of legal technology in the transaction: “The legal industry has been undergoing a significant digital transformation, and the acquisition of Ince & Co by AxiomDWFM highlights the importance of innovative technology in legal practice. AxiomDWFM’s acquisition of Ince & Co demonstrates their commitment to advancing their technological capabilities and will undoubtedly reinforce their position as a leading legal services provider.”
Axiom DWFM’s partners include several well-known figures such as chairman Jonathan Metliss, a renowned City dealmaker and former partner of the legacy Ince Group firm Gordon Dadds, David Sedgwick, ex-chief executive of Clarke Willmott and a former director of small firm consolidator Echelon Law and the defunct Cubism Law, and Guy Barnett, former chief executive of Birmingham firm Blakemores, which was closed down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2013, and founder of the shopping centre legal marketing brand Lawyers2you.
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