Two Lake District law firms have been acquired by a national group.
Thomson Hayton Winkley and The Rural Law Practice have joined the MAPD Group.
MAPD stands for Making A Positive Difference and the group said its focus was on sustainable growth and a balanced approach to running a business.
Both firms will maintain their name and brand and will continue to be led by current directors Simon Theobald, John Cooke, Stephen Greenwood and Fiona Ward with the ownership being transferred to MAPD.
With 60 staff across six offices, Thomson Hayton Winkley and The Rural Law Practice serve large commercial clients through to smaller rural, farming and family businesses, with tourism and hospitality being a particular speciality. They also offer private client, family and property law advice.
John Cooke, director at Thomson Hayton Winkley and The Rural Law Practice, said: “Becoming part of a group whose name sums up what we all feel and do on a daily basis is the perfect home for us.
“It gives us the fuel to protect and grow an already thriving business in our beautiful corner of the world. This is a good day for our staff and for our local community, who can be assured of our continued commitment to developing and supporting them over the coming years, which we will now do with renewed vigour.”
MAPD co-founder Joanna Kingston-Davies said: “MAPD is a people-first business, and that is why we were attracted to THW and RLP. We’re not about changing firms: we look for successful firms and help them become even better.
“It was immediately obvious when meeting Simon and John that they had the right credentials we look for in a law firm, namely: a loyal and diverse client base, strong roots in their local community and a keen commitment to their people.
“Brian and I are thrilled to welcome them to the MAPD family, and we very much look forward to making a positive difference in their local community.”
Thomson Hayton Winkley estate agency and financial services businesses are not joining the group but will continue using the Thomson Hayton Winkley name and be led by their current directors.
The acquisition was funded by Shard Credit Partners. Advising the MAPD Group were Carl Swansbury, Tom Cosby and Sam Shield of RG Corporate Finance. Legal advice came from Natasha
Lackner and Mollie Williams of O’Connors. Financial and tax due diligence was carried out by Andrew Cameron, Grahame Maughan and Jonathan Delaney of RG Corporate Finance.
