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BGF backs Harrogate-based firm IDR Law for growth

admin June 5, 2023

Harrogate-headquartered IDR Law has announced a £3.25 million growth capital investment from BGF.

IDR Law is the only UK law firm to specialise solely in the resolution of contentious wills, probate and trust disputes. Their unique position in the market is underpinned by the firm’s innovative IDR Network (IDRN). Launched in 2022, it now provides hundreds of members with an online referral and support space for contentious issues, along with extensive training, general resources and commentaries.

The deal with BGF will allow IDR Law to invest in industry-leading talent and proprietary legal tech, as well as expanding its office network to the Midlands, North East and London.

Martin Holdsworth, founder and CEO of IDR Law, said: “By its nature, our work is very emotive, so it’s crucial for us to deliver the best possible service to referrers and clients, which is reflected in our exceptional client and referrer NPS scores. We have identified opportunities for significant growth, but we will only take on cases where we genuinely believe we can help someone reach their goals. BGF understood what we are looking to achieve and that it’s essential we continue to do this in the right way.”

“Our business is built on strong foundations because of our focus on our people and culture. From day one, we were set up to work remotely, so we could offer our lawyers the opportunity to work flexibly with paid overtime and a healthy balance between work and home. Because of this, we’ve been able to attract the best talent, with a 20-strong team based across the UK, with 90% of our workforce made up of women. It’s also the most productive and engaged team I’ve experienced working with.”

The deal was led by Chris Boyes and Linda Nguyenova, investors in BGF’s Yorkshire team.

Martin has taken an entrepreneurial and innovative approach to a traditional industry, and has experienced excellent growth to date, while creating a great place to work. With fresh investment and BGF’s experience of adding value to businesses as they scale, IDR Law is perfectly placed to accelerate its expansion.

Chris Boyes, BGF investor

Following an introduction by BGF’s Talent Network team, Charles Layfield will join the Board of IDR Law as Non-Executive Chair. Following a successful career as a solicitor and law firm partner, Charles is now on the board of and chairs a number of businesses in the legal and connected sectors, bringing a strong track record of driving growth.

IDR Law’s new management board comprises existing partners Richard Thomas, Cara Hough and Eleanor Stenson, along with Head of Marketing Lindsay Gibson, and Richard Stewart as incoming new Head of Finance.

Categories: News

Tags: Legal

Litera secures further investment from Hg

admin November 5, 2021

The investment will be used for further growth and to continue Litera’s long-term strategy to be the world’s most comprehensive provider of law firm software

Chicago, IL, USA and London, United Kingdom – 5^th November 2021: Litera, a global leader in legal technology solutions, today announces that Hg, a leading software and services investor and supporter of the expansion of Litera since 2019, will lead a further majority investment in the business.

Following this new investment, Litera will be well-positioned to continue on its long-term growth trajectory, receiving funding for further expansion into new areas and geographies, as well as continued investment into innovation to empower more legal teams, for more aspects of their daily workflow, with simplified technology.

The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Based in Chicago, New York and London, Litera is a leading provider of legal workflow and workspace technology worldwide. Litera’s software empowers users across the legal industry to generate, review and distribute high-quality content quickly and securely, from any device. Today, Litera supports thousands of document-intensive organizations across the globe, helping them to satisfy the complex demands of clients and regulators, using innovative technologies such as AI and machine learning.

Litera has seen significant growth since Hg first invested in 2019, having made 12 acquisitions and now approaching more than 1,000 employees across 17 different countries. Litera also has gained over 10 times the number of users since Hg first invested, now serving over 15,000 customers.

“The last two years have seen Litera treble in size, serving many thousands of customers with more solutions and in more geographies. The velocity and complexity of this expansion has been made possible by an incredible team at Litera combined with a fantastic relationship with Hg, whose knowledge and impressive network in legal tech has presented numerous opportunities for the business. We are delighted that Hg is committing further investment into the business to provide Litera with even more firepower to enable us to continue this trajectory for many years to come.”

Avaneesh Marwaha, Litera CEO

“Litera has grown significantly since we first backed the business in 2019, but we are just getting started. There is still enormous opportunity to support further productivity improvement in law firms with modern software. Litera’s position as the ‘Vendor of Choice’ for law firm CIOs, their highly talented team and well-invested products means that the business is an ideal platform to continue to support this theme for many years to come. At Hg we value long-term relationships where we can build true, scaled platforms that are champions in their sectors. We see this potential in Litera and we are excited for the future.”

Jean-Baptiste Brian, Partner, Ben Meyer, Partner and Hector Guinness, Director at Hg

Media Contacts:

Tom Eckersley

Tom.Eckersley@hgcapital.com

Kerry Carroll, Director, Marketing Communications

Litera
kerry.carroll@litera.com

About Litera
Litera has been a global leader in legal technology for 25+ years, helping legal teams work more efficiently, accurately, and competitively. As a leader in document workflow, collaboration, and data management solutions, we empower legal teams with simplified technology for creating and managing all their documents, deals, cases, and data. For more information about Litera visit, litera.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About Hg
Hg is a leading investor in software and services, focused on backing businesses that change how we all do business. Deep technology expertise, complemented by vertical application specialisation and dedicated operational support, provides a compelling proposition to management teams looking to scale their businesses. Hg has funds under management of around $40 billion, with an investment team of over 140 professionals, plus a portfolio team of more than 40 operators, providing practical support to help our businesses to realise their growth ambitions. Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg has a portfolio of over 35 software and technology businesses, worth around $78 billion aggregate enterprise value, with over 55,000 employees globally, growing at over 20% per year. Visit www.hgcapital.com for more information.

CVC Capital Partners announces majority interest investment in UnitedLex

admin September 20, 2018

Senior team has fully reinvested to further company’s mission to drive innovation in the legal marketplace

CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”) today announced that funds managed by CVC will make a majority interest investment in UnitedLex, the pioneer of enterprise legal services for the world’s leading corporations, law firms, and universities. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The UnitedLex senior leadership team has fully reinvested in the transaction to further the company’s mission to lead the revolution of the practice of law and legal services delivery and to drive innovation in the legal marketplace.

The investment represents one of the largest transactions to date with any legal services provider. It comes on the heels of UnitedLex closing deals worth $1.5 billion in total contract value over the last 18 months.

Founded in 2006, UnitedLex provides enterprise legal services to its clients, which include more than 25% of the Global Fortune 500, across 18 countries. UnitedLex’s year-over-year growth has been purely organic, enabling a singularity of culture focused on delivering significant client value and providing its professionals a unique home to extend the current boundaries of client solutions through the “art of the possible.” The company has created a one of a kind legal services platform: a consulting, technology, and resource solutions company; an international law firm constellation; and a law firm resource platform – all focused on the areas of contracts and commercial transactions, litigation, intellectual property, consulting, and compliance.

Daniel Reed, CEO of UnitedLex, said, “I am very pleased to welcome CVC as our partner in what marks an important milestone in UnitedLex’s evolution. As Europe’s largest private equity firm with current and past portfolio companies such as Breitling, AlixPartners, and Formula 1, CVC has the geographic reach, sector expertise, scale, and significant capital that will undoubtedly help us expand our technology development and provide clients with unique financial structuring as part of our industry-changing solutions.”

Siddharth Patel, Senior Managing Director at CVC, commented, “UnitedLex has a multi-billion-dollar opportunity ahead of it, with legal services being one the few remaining verticals that is early in the penetration curve of technology, consulting, and solution delivery. UnitedLex continues to innovate with game-changing engagements with the world’s leading companies. Now is the perfect time for us to provide significant capital to enhance its growth and scale, the beginnings of which we’ve already seen in its impressive financial performance, customer wins, and pipeline of opportunities.”

Amit Soni, Managing Director at CVC, added, “We are excited to partner with UnitedLex and its excellent management team and to provide necessary capital to pursue both strategic acquisitions in a consolidating space, as well as transformational client wins. We have known the company for many years and have been impressed by its consistent track record of growth and ability to design and deliver unique solutions in the enterprise legal space.”

Tag Archives: Legal

BGF backs Harrogate-based firm IDR Law for growth

Litera secures further investment from Hg

CVC Capital Partners announces majority interest investment in UnitedLex