Palamon Capital Partners buys QualitySolicitors

Palamon Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has bought a majority stake in QualitySolicitors.

The purchase price has not been revealed, but Steve Richards, former chief executive of Interflora, has been appointed chairman of QS.

The move is the first reported significant investment by private equity in the legal services market and could be the first shot in a titanic battle between new legal brands, backed by private equity, and legal services provided directly by existing corporations, such as The Co-op.

At least one other law firm franchise is understood to be in talks with private equity.

In a statement, Richards described the Legal Services Act as creating “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a strong national network of local solicitors operating under a trusted brand.

“Despite fierce competition from the supermarkets, we built Interflora into the sector-dominant brand by focusing on quality and service and I’m extremely excited about repeating that achievement at QualitySolicitors, in a similarly fragmented market.”

Palamon said on its website that it invests throughout Europe in “service-orientated business with high growth potential.

“With €1.1bn of funds under management, we are backed by some of the biggest investment institutions in the world.”

Craig Holt, founder of QualitySolicitors, revealed earlier in the week that the network would launch a multimillion pound marketing campaign and rebrand next year.

Holt said the aim was to present a “grown-up QS”, which was more mature and reflected the company’s growth. He said there were now around 110 firms - for a total of 220 QS offices - in the network and 160 legal access points in WHSmith shops.

Holt said the animated puppet-style ‘Miss QS’ was likely to be “put out to pasture” and replaced with non-animated visuals.