The deal

Slater and Gordon secures £33 million working capital facility

Our Debt Advisory team has advised leading UK consumer law firm Slater and Gordon on its £33 million committed debt facility with Harbour, a litigation funder and lender to law firms, in what is believed to be one of the largest lending deals in the legal sector this year.

Slater and Gordon will use Harbour’s capital to invest in developing its consumer legal services teams. It will also fund a substantial book of clinical negligence and other personal injury claims, which is consistent with the firm’s strategy to be one of the UK’s leading providers of personal injury law and related services.

Harbour is the world’s largest privately-owned litigation funder and it has broadened its investment appetite over the last 18 months to include the provision of lending and credit facilities to law firms, supporting them in the execution of their growth plans.

Our Debt Advisory team, led by Partners Andy Dimmock and Dave Edwards, was appointed by Slater and Gordon to help source the debt facility. Our team ran a competitive debt-raising process and approached a number of lenders with the knowledge and ability to lend to the legal sector. Following a thorough analysis of each lender’s offer, Harbour was selected to proceed to completion.

Andy Dimmock said: “We’re proud to have advised on this landmark transaction, which will allow Slater and Gordon to continue its growth trajectory and maintain its market-leading position in the legal profession. The deal not only highlights the appetite of lenders to fund a transaction of this nature in the current climate, but also the range of terms on offer to this type of borrower. Slater and Gordon can now further invest in its services and we wish the team every success in the future.”

Nils Stoesser, CEO of Slater and Gordon, added: “The ethos of the entire Slater and Gordon team is to support our clients by delivering an exceptional service across a whole range of consumer law issues. We have been looking for a financial partner to help us capitalise on the next stages of the firm’s growth, and we are delighted to have Harbour’s support and confidence in our future.”

Elizabeth Comley, COO of Slater and Gordon, said: “The facility we have agreed with Harbour gives us access to stable capital over several years which we can use to make substantial investment in our core consumer legal services businesses.  We have big growth ambitions for our personal injury, clinical negligence, and other practice areas, where we know we have a competitive advantage. With the expert support from the Debt Advisory team at FRP Corporate Finance, we’ve secured this new facility that allows us to realise those ambitions, and in Harbour we’ve found a natural partner who really understand the needs and business of law firms.”