Gordons advises on sale of debt litigation law firm Drydens
Tuesday 16th June 2009
Leeds and Bradford law firm Gordons advised specialist debt litigation law firm Drydens on its sale to lawyer and insolvency practitioner Philip Holden for an undisclosed sum.
Bradford-based Drydens was established in 1984 and employs 150 staff. The firm has recently reported its sixth consecutive year of growth and has an annual turnover of around £7m.
Mr Holden established the LCL group Limited in 2002 which specialised in insurance run off management and acquisition in the London and international insurance markets. This group was sold in 2005 to Charles Taylor Consulting PLC and he remained as chief executive of LCL until December 2008. Following his acquisition of Drydens, Mr Holden’s intention is to build upon the firm’s brand and specialist offering in the field of debt recovery and debt
Gordons corporate partner Tim Ratcliffe led a team of lawyers advising Drydens partners on the sale of their practice and their shareholdings in an associated operating company called Agenda Management Services Limited (AMS).
The Gordons team acted for a diverse range of solicitor-partners and shareholders whilst also managing the deal along with a disposal committee appointed by the Drydens partners. This included negotiating and completing a lease of the Bradford premises occupied by AMS.
John Ridings, chairman of the Drydens disposal committee, said: “This was a complex deal involving 37 different vendors, so Tim and his team had to handle a diverse range of individuals with a variety of expectations.
“The Gordons team undertook meticulous preparation ahead of the transaction to ensure that everyone’s expectations were managed and that the deal kept moving. Tim’s pragmatic, straightforward approach ensured that all parties were kept informed throughout the course of the deal and our objectives were achieved. We are very pleased with the final outcome”
Assisting Tim on the deal were Gordons corporate solicitors Jonathan Asquez, Duncan Firman and Andy Brian along with commercial property partner Paul Young.
Tim Ratcliffe commented: “The management of 37 vendors provided logistical and communications challenges, but these were successfully overcome by in-depth forward planning and the good working relationship we established with the disposal committee.”