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DWF Group

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DWF Group Ltd.
HeadquartersManchester, England, UK
No. of offices31
No. of attorneys1,100
No. of employees4,886
Major practice areasGeneral Practice (see below)
Key peopleJonathan Bloomer (Chairman) [1]
Sir Nigel Knowles (CEO)[2]
Revenue£417 million (2021/22)
Date founded1977 (Liverpool)
FounderJim Davies, Guy Wallis[3]
Company typeLimited company
Traded asLSE: DWF
Websitedwfgroup.com

DWF is a global legal business headquartered in Manchester, England,[4] with 31 offices across the world.[5][6] In March 2019, DWF was listed on the London Stock Exchange. With a £366m valuation and offer size of £95m, DWF became the UK's largest listed law firm.[7]

DWF's London offices at 20 Fenchurch Street also known as London's "Walkie Talkie"

The firm started as a four-office practice in North West England and has now grown globally through a series of international mergers. It currently has around 3,100 staff and is the 19th-largest law firm in the UK measured by revenues. It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

DWF's London offices at 20 Fenchurch Street also known as London's "Walkie Talkie"[8]

In March 2019, DWF was valued on the London Stock Exchange at just under £370m.[9]

History

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Davies Wallis was founded in 1977 in Liverpool[3] and merged with Dodds Ashcroft in 1989.[3]

A merger with Foysters in 1990[3] brought a Manchester office and a change of name to Davies Wallis Foyster, which was abbreviated to DWF in 2007,[3] shortly after the acquisition of Ricksons.[10] The Ricksons acquisition added offices in Preston and Leeds. DWF opened a London office in 2008.[11]

A series of acquisitions in 2012 and 2013 added offices in Birmingham (Buller Jeffries),[12] Newcastle (Crutes),[13] Glasgow and Edinburgh (both Biggart Baillie),[14] Bristol, Dublin and a second London office (Fishburns),[15] before acquiring Cobbetts through a pre-pack administration.[16]

In 2014, DWF reported a 23% increase in net profit from £20.8 million in 2012/13 to £25.5 million in its first full year financial results following four mergers.[17]

DWF opened an office in Dubai in March 2015, the firm's first office outside of the British Isles.[18]

DWF opened six offices in 2017, including two new operations in Continental Europe. The firm opened in Berlin after hiring two lawyers from DLA Piper. It also launched its first office in France through a merger with four-partner Paris firm Heenan Blaikie. In the Asia Pacific region, DWF also launched two offices in Melbourne and Brisbane through a combination with independent firm MVM Legal.

DWF further opened in Singapore after hiring from Eversheds Sutherland's practice. It gained bases in Sydney, Chicago and Toronto after the acquisition of claims company Triton in January.[19]

DWF posted strong results for H1 2017/18, with revenue up 23% and net profit growing by circa 33%. Turnover for H1 2017/18 was £113.5m in a period marked by a spate of office openings in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.[20]

In June 2018, DWF announced its intention to seek a stock exchange listing.[9]

The firm strengthened the IPO business case with a double-digit growth in September 2018. DWF posted revenue growth of 18% from £201.3m to £236m ($309m) for 2017/18 ahead of the firm's initial public offering. The firm also said profit per equity partner (PEP) increased by 9%.[21]

In September 2018, DWF agreed to an exclusive association with US law firm Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB), a Los Angeles headquartered full-service law firm with 22 offices across the US, 56 partners and 250 lawyers, and generated gross revenue of $81m in its last financial year.[22]

In January 2020, DWF acquired Mindcrest, a legal and managed services business, for $18.50 million.[23]

In July 2023, Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP agreed to acquire the company for £342 million.[24] The deal was completed in October 2023.[25]

Notable cases

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  • DWF, working alongside Jones Lang LaSalle, has advised Korea's National Pension Service as lead bidder to buy Goldman Sachs's new London headquarters for $1.56bn. The deal will see Goldman Sachs commit to a 25-year lease of the 826,000 square foot site and are set to move into the building in summer 2019. The landmark transaction is the single largest UK real estate deal this year, and the second-largest ever, after the sale of the 'Walkie Talkie' building for $1.6bn, where DWF London lawyers reside.[26][27]
  • DWF is advising the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea as the inquiry into Grenfell Tower fire disaster in June 2017, which resulted in the deaths of at least 80 people in North Kensington.[28]
  • DWF's Police and Prison Law team have secured a favourable judgment for South Yorkshire Police in a claim brought by Sir Cliff Richard against the BBC and SYP for infringement of his privacy rights.[29][30]
  • The firm advised Poundland owner Pepkor on its $233m financing with US investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management.[31]
  • DWF advised Discovery Park, one of Europe's leading science and technology parks, on $207m biomass renewable energy plant. Around 650 Pfizer UK employees are based at Discovery Park.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Jonathan Bloomer appointed as Chairman". Directorstalkinterviews.com. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  2. ^ "DWF appoints Sir Nigel Knowles as CEO". Thelawyer.com. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "DWF enters 'abbreviation age'". Manchester Evening News. 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  4. ^ "Organisation". 7 October 2019.
  5. ^ "DWF GROUP LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
  6. ^ "DWF Locations".
  7. ^ "DWF becomes UK's largest listed law firm as it completes £95m IPO". Legal Business. 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  8. ^ "DWF, based in the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City of London". The Times.
  9. ^ a b "Because they're worth it: DWF's valuation and the Knowles effect". 18 June 2018.
  10. ^ "DWF and Ricksons confirm merger". The Lawyer. 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  11. ^ "Davies Lavery team defects for DWF City launch". Legal Week. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  12. ^ "DWF and Buller Jeffries to merge". Business Desk. 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  13. ^ "Crutes completes merger with DWF". The Journal. 2012-01-09. Archived from the original on 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  14. ^ "Biggart Baillie reveals merger with DWF". The Herald. 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  15. ^ "DWF to merger with professional indemnity firm Fishburns". Legal Week. 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  16. ^ "DWF plans to buy troubled Cobbetts". Manchester Evening News. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  17. ^ "DWF posts net profit growth to £25.5m, revenues at £191m". The Lawyer. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  18. ^ "DWF tears up UK-only strategy with Dubai office launch". The Lawyer. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  19. ^ "DWF pushes further into Middle East with Qatar launch". The Lawyer. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  20. ^ "Financials 2017/18: CMS claims 25% profit hike post-merger as DWF's top line grows 23%". www.legalbusiness.co.uk. 20 November 2017.
  21. ^ "DWF revenue surges 18% ahead of anticipated IPO".
  22. ^ "Firms enter into exclusive association for US expansion". www.globallegalpost.com.
  23. ^ Tillay, Meganne (January 29, 2020). "UK Law Firm DWF Acquires Chicago-based Mindcrest for $18.5M". Law.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  24. ^ "Law giant agrees £342m deal to be taken over by private equity group". 21 July 2023.
  25. ^ "Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP completed the acquisition of DWF Group PLC from group of shareholders. - MarketScreener". 3 October 2023.
  26. ^ "The 20-Hour Flight is Coming. And It May Have a Gym and Bunks". Bloomberg.com. 29 August 2018.
  27. ^ "DWF advises on landmark City real estate deal".
  28. ^ "DWF in line for over £1.3m from Kensington and Chelsea Council for advice on Grenfell fire disaster". LegalWeek.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  29. ^ "Sir Cliff Richard settles row with South Yorkshire Police over raid on his home". The Telegraph. 26 May 2017.
  30. ^ "Press Releases".
  31. ^ "Eversheds Sutherland nears first anniversary with trio of corporate deals". Legalbusiness.co.uk. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  32. ^ "DWF advises leading science and tech park on £160million biomass renewable energy plant - DWF". Dwf.law. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
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