A successful Personal Injury (PI) firm based in the Northwest reached out to Ortus Group to discuss their future plans for their firm as owners sought to pursue their differing personal aspirations.
The Mission & Challenge
A firm with a national reputation for their work, particularly for unions reached out to Ortus Group for advice on the best way to sell their business and book of work without jeopardising the business by spooking staff, clients or the market. Co-owned by two individuals who were well respected by the industry in their own right, one owner wished to retire while the other wanted to pursue an alternative career outside of law.
This meant that both owners needed to absolved themselves of all liabilities which included a caseload worth in excess of £10m.
Both owners were concerned about confidentiality during the process to ensure that none of the unions became nervous about the situation and would continue to place their work with the firm. The nature of acting for unions meant created very specific sensitivities.
A market in the state of flux
Lobbying by the insurance industry and subsequent government interventions meant the PI sector underwent significant flux over the previous decade. With the market evolving significantly from one year to the next, changing priorities, efficiencies and methodologies were required to make much of the work viable.
As a result, different PI firms would have different approaches to one another at any given time. It was imperative that thorough research took place to identify where the best value could be achieved for both seller and buyer.
How Ortus Group Approached this Successfully
While research underpins every project undertaken by Ortus Group to ensure success, it was essential to get this right to determine which firms were feasible targets.
Due to the socio-political aspect of having unions for clients, this not only meant that the target needed to be able to work with unions; they had to work with the ‘right’ unions as client conflicts were possible.
By identifying which firms acted for which unions, Ortus Group was able to produce a viable shortlist before reaching out to any firm. Subsequent research and engagement allowed the team at Ortus Group ›to line up two firms who were keen to acquire the business in question.
Within seven months, the client managed to sell to a firm who paid a capital sum that was beyond the expectations of the exiting duo.
The End Result
Two years later, the buyer of Ortus Group’s client went on to sell to a much larger international firm, no doubt helped on the way by the significant acquisition of turnover and expertise.