ABERDEIN Considine, the Aberdeen-based law firm, has strengthened its presence Glasgow by merging with the 31-year-old solicitor and estate agency firm A&S Ireland.
The deal, believed to be for a seven-figure sum, creates an enlarged businesses with 20 branches, 368 staff – including 29 partners – and a turnover of more than £21 million.
All 20 staff at A&S Ireland are being retained and will transfer to Aberdein Considine when the transaction concludes on 27 May. The combined businesses will trade under the Aberdein Considine brand from next month.
“A&S Ireland already has an established professional reputation in Glasgow and brings to the table a loyal client following, market knowledge and over 60 years of experience between the partners,” said Aberdein Considine managing partner Jacqueline Law, who started with the firm as a trainee in the 1980s.
“It cements and strengthens our position in the central belt and means we can service more areas in Glasgow, as well as offering a wider range of services to our clients.”
Aberdein Considine first moved into Glasgow three years ago with the opening of a property branch in Shawlands, followed by a legal office in St Vincent Street last May. The A&S Ireland merger adds another three offices in Ayr Road, Newton Mearns, Byers Road in the west end and Waterloo Street in the city centre. This will become Aberdein Considine’s new headquarters in the city.
Ms Law said the merger would extend A&S Ireland’s core estate agency and private client offering – including conveyancing, wills, estates and executries – with the addition of a dedicated family law department; corporate law; corporate real estate; dispute resolution and financial services. The firm also has a large debt recovery practice, including the recovery of mortgage and credit card arrears for Royal Bank of Scotland.
Other clients include Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander, Greggs and upmarket jeweller, Rox. The firm has also recently secured its first public sector legal work with NHS Grampian and the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
A&S Ireland was founded in 1985 by Anthony Ireland, who was senior partner until his retirement in 2007. The firm’s current partners, Gavin Crowe and Bryden Crearie, will both become partners at Aberdein Considine when the merger completes.
“Since we started trading in 1985, A&S Ireland has always aimed to offer the best possible personal service to clients,” Mr Crowe said. “We are amongst a very limited number of lawyers who offer estate agency services in Glasgow on a level with the national agents.
“The merger with Aberdein Considine allows us to offer a greater range of services including property leasing and financial services to our clients. It also provides to our clients national coverage”.
Aberdein Considine was founded in 1981 by Aberdeen lawyers Harvey Aberdein and Iain Considine. They claimed to be the first to put lawyers on the high street in an effort to change the ‘stuffy’ legal market and make lawyers more accessible. The business acquired a Peterhead firm the late 1980s, followed by Stirling firm Muirhead Buchanan in 2014.
“It’s about the right fit for us,” Ms Law said. “There are solicitors in Glasgow who do property services, but not many who do it well and on a good scale. A&S Ireland are one of the firms who do property and do it well, so that was the first fit. The second fit was that we knew Gavin and Bryden from transactions with them, so we knew they were good lawyers and well-regarded. So when we were looking for a merger, they stood out for those reasons.”
Following the merger, ownership of the firm will be split between 16 equity partners with various stakes.
Aberdein Considine’s other branches include Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Bathgate, Livingston, Perth, Stonehaven, Banchory, Dyce, Westhill, Inverurie and Ellon.
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