London-listed legal services firm, Gateley (AIM:GTLY) , has acquired reputation management and media law specialist, Paul Tweed LLP, for a total consideration of £2.0m.
Irish-based Tweed, which has offices in Belfast and a presence in Dublin and London, was established by Paul Tweed who has represented a number of high-profile celebrities including Johnny Depp, Sylvester Stallone and Britney Spears.
Legal business Tweed, which was established in 2017, specialises in reputation management, privacy and data protection issues, commercial litigation and brand protection.
Gateley has characterised the acquisition as significant in expanding the business’ legal offering across the areas in which Tweed operates and said that it presents cross-selling opportunities into Tweed's existing and future client base.
“We have considered expanding into the Irish market for some time and Tweed strengthens our presence in the Irish professional services market,” said Michael Ward, Chief Executive of Gateley.
Shares in Gateley were trading 3.46% at 179.5p during Monday trading.
Tweed provides solutions to cyber harassment, misuse of private information and privacy breaches and has managed multi-jurisdictional approach for corporates, governments and individuals.
Ward said the firm views the acquisition as a “springboard” for developing a strong legal services offering in Ireland as well as supporting its growth plans of Belfast-based Gateley Capitus, the group’s first transaction as a plc which occured in 2016.
“The acquisition is highly complementary and we have already identified a number of opportunities for our national teams, particularly in Commercial Disputes Resolution and Litigation,” added Ward.
Gateley made history in June 2015 when it became the first UK commercial law firm to be quoted on a public market, raising £30m on admission.
In January 2020, the group reported a strong set of half-year results with double digit growth in profitability and revenue in the sixth months ended October 31st 2019.
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