PE-backed Setfords weighs potential sale, report says

Private equity-backed Setfords has appointed investment bankers to explore strategic options including a potential sale, according to a report by The Sunday Times.

The newspaper reported that investment bank Baird had been hired “to help it explore options including launching a sale process”.

Setfords declined to comment when approached by Non-Billable.

The firm is one of the UK’s largest so-called platform firms, operating a consultant fee-share model where lawyers work on a self-employed basis while the firm provides infrastructure and back office support.

The model has become increasingly prominent in the UK legal market over the past decade, with rivals including Keystone and Taylor Rose. Setfords is the largest operator in the segment by headcount.

Rapid growth

Founded in 2006 and led by cousins Chris and Guy Setford as co-chief executives, the business has grown rapidly in recent years.

The firm now has around 650 lawyers on its platform across the UK and operates as a full-service practice across consumer and business-facing work, although residential property is understood to account for a significant proportion of revenue.

The group reported revenue growth of 35% in the 2024/25 financial year, reaching £67.7 million.

London-based private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners acquired a stake in the business in 2021 from BGF, formerly known as the Business Growth Fund.

Private equity in legal

The move comes amid continued private equity interest in the UK legal market, particularly among scalable consumer-focused and platform-style businesses.

Some of the most active examples include acquisitive consolidator Lawfront, which is backed by Blixt and recently completed its sixteenth acquisition with a deal for Reading-based Field Seymour Parkes.

Personal injury specialist Fletchers, backed by Sun Capital Partners, has also been expanding aggressively through acquisitions, most recently buying teams from Freeths.

Elsewhere, Midlands firm Higgs took investment from August Equity and completed its first acquisition earlier this year.