Southport law firm Fletchers Group has already spent more than £20m on acquisitions in the past year or so and now announces another buyout and an expansion into family law. Tony McDonough reports
Southport law firm Fletchers Group is to enter the family law market for the first time as it unveils its latest acquisition.
Over the past year or so Fletchers has spent more than £20m on acquisitions as part of its aggressive growth strategy. Now it has acquired St Albans-based family law specialist Rayden Solicitors.
Founded in 2005 by Katherine Rayden, Raydens now operates across Buckinghamshire, Essex, Central London, and Birmingham. The firm employs 113 people and is one of the largest specialist family law firms in England and Wales.
Fletchers did not disclose the value of the deal but Rayden’s latest results on Companies House, for the 12 months to March 31, 2025, reveal revenues of £11.5m, pre-tax profits of £1.4m and net assets of more than £673,000.
Following the acquisition, Raydens will retain its brand, offices, and leadership team, with Katherine Rayden joining the Fletchers Group executive committee.
Peter Haden, chief executive of Fletchers Group, said: “Our strategy is clear: to invest in brilliant specialist firms and help them grow more quickly, help more clients, and strengthen their organisation.
“We’re keen to apply the same successful approach to Raydens as we have in our serious Injury and clinical negligence practice, moving at pace to build a national leader in family law through a mix of organic and inorganic growth.”
This is the 10th acquisition by Fletchers Group in the past four years and follows the addition of Scott Rees and Shoosmiths’ Serious Injury practice earlier this year.
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In October LBN reported that four years after its takeover by private equity outfit Sun European Partners, Fletchers Group has made a big leap towards its target of £100m-a-year turnover in its latest accounts just published on Companies House.
In the 12 months to April 30, 2025, Fletchers saw revenues rise more than 32% to just shy of £77m. At just over £7m its pre-tax profits fell from £8.3m last year. This was due to increased marketing spend and one-off costs relating to recent acquisitions.
Katherine Rayden added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us… this acquisition will benefit both our colleagues and our clients, whilst retaining our trusted Raydens brand.”