McMillan Williams acquired through pre-pack administration

McMillan Williams Solicitors has been brought out of administration by City of London based firm Taylor Rose, the firms confirmed today.

The pre-pack deal sees Taylor Rose take on all of McMillan Williams’ staff and offices to create a top 75 firm with combined revenues of more than £40m and 32 offices nationwide with headquarters in Peterborough and London.

McMillan Williams’ was advised by restructuring advisors at Quantuma and regulatory experts at Pinsent Masons while Taylor Rose was advised by John Llewellyn-Lloyd, head of professional services at Arden Partners. Merger discussions are understood to have begun in 2019.

Taylor Rose CEO Adrian Jaggard said: “I am very confident that together we can maximise the opportunities of our combined business. Our resulting strength leaves us well placed to benefit as the legal services market starts its journey of recovery from the stresses of the pandemic.”

McMillan Williams chairman John McMillan added: “A shared culture, complementary services and distinct geographies made Taylor Rose an obvious home for McMillan Williams and there is enormous potential to bring our respective strengths to bear moving forward.”

Both firms have a focus on property, but the combined entity will also cover litigation, private client, crime and family.

Taylor Rose, which was founded in 2009, is the product of a series of previous mergers. The firm joined with TTKW in 2015, which itself was the product of a merger between Tucker Turner & Co and Kingsley Wood & Co in 1984.

The enlarged group hopes to be able to access a wider range of financing opportunities to support continued growth.