Cobbetts

Cobbetts LLP
Headquarters Manchester, United Kingdom
No. of offices Four[1]
No. of lawyers Approximately 325[2]
Major practice areas General practice
Key people Nick Carr (Managing Partner)
Revenue £45.4 million (2011/12)[3]
Profit per equity partner £323,000 (2011/12)[3]
Company type Limited liability partnership
Dissolved 7 February 2013

Cobbetts LLP was a British corporate law firm, with offices in Birmingham, Leeds, London and Manchester. Its main areas of work were dispute resolution, real estate, corporate and employment law.[4]

Cobbetts had total revenues of £45.4 million in 2011/12, the 62nd-largest of any UK-based law firm in that financial year.[5] Cobbetts entered administration in January 2013 and in February the bulk of its assets were acquired by rival Manchester-based law firm DWF.

History

Cobbetts was originally founded in Manchester during the first half of the nineteenth century as Cobbett, Wheeler and Cobbett by the sons of William Cobbett, the journalist and polemicist. It became Cobbett Leak Almond after the acquisition of Leak Almond and Parkinson in 1987.[6] The firm shortened its name to simply 'Cobbetts' in 1996.

Further mergers with Read Hind Stewart of Leeds[7] and Lee Crowder of Birmingham[8] followed in 2002 and 2004 respectively. The London office was opened in 2004[9] to service corporate clients acquired through niche Manchester firm Fox Brooks Marshall [10] in 2003.

On 30 January 2013 it was announced that Cobbetts would be entering administration,[11] having filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on 28 January 2013, and was now up for sale.[3]

On 31 January 2013 it was announced that the Manchester-based law firm DWF had agreed to acquire the bulk of Cobbetts' assets in a "pre-pack" transaction.[12][13] The acquisition was completed on 7 February 2013.[14][15] Cobbetts' finance litigation practice and debt recovery team Incasso did not form part of the acquisition, with the former moving to Leeds-based firm Walker Morris[15] and the latter being acquired by the Redditch-based debt recovery firm HL Legal.[16]

References

  1. ↑ About Cobbetts
  2. ↑ Chambers Student Guide 2011
  3. 1 2 3 "Cobbetts seeks buyer as administrators are called in". The Lawyer. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  4. ↑ http://www.chambersandpartners.com/UK/Firms/86-38909 Chambers UK
  5. ↑ "First U.K. Law Firm Since 2010 to Seek Protection From Creditors". Bloomberg Businessweek. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Cobbetts Acquires Leak Almond and Parkinson
  7. ↑ The Lawyer
  8. ↑ The Lawyer
  9. ↑ The Lawyer
  10. ↑ The Lawyer
  11. ↑ The Business Desk North West
  12. ↑ "DWF acquires ailing Cobbetts in pre-pack deal". The Lawyer. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "DWF plans to buy troubled Cobbetts". Manchester Evening News. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "400 jobs saved as Cobbetts deal goes through". The Law Gazette. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Cobbetts litigation team to join Walker Morris following DWF pre-pack deal". The Lawyer. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  16. ↑ "KPMG finds buyer for Cobbetts' debt recovery arm". The Lawyer. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.


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