Gateley, the legal and professional services group, has acquired Adamson Jones Holdings Limited for a total consideration of £2.5 million.
Adamson Jones provides intellectual property (IP) services encompassing patent, design and trade mark protection advice in the UK, Europe and around the world.
Adamson Jones is the eleventh business Gateley has acquired since its IPO in June 2015 and is the group’s first Business Services Platform acquisition.
Business Services is one of Gateley’s four Platforms, the others being Corporate, People, and Property. These are market-facing structures on which the group clusters complementary legal, and consultancy services.
The Business Services Platform supports clients in dealing with their commercial agreements, managing risk, protecting assets, and resolving disputes. It also includes the group’s multi-jurisdictional forensics and business intelligence services, through Gateley Omega.
Adamson Jones complements the group’s existing legal services in IP and technology, brand and reputation management, media, and privacy.
Adamson Jones was founded in 2000 and acts for clients from large multinational and national organisations, to universities and SMEs. The Adamson Jones team has 25 staff headed by directors Simon Cooper and Nicholas Ferrar and the business has offices in Nottingham, Leicester and London. Both directors will continue to work as part of the management team post acquisition.
In the year ending 31 March 2021, Adamson Jones generated revenue of c. £3.6 million.
Rod Waldie, Chief Executive Officer of Gateley, said: “I am delighted to welcome Adamson Jones to the group as our first acquisition on to our Business Services Platform. Gateley Legal already has an existing and strong relationship with Adamson Jones with whom we have worked previously to support clients on their patent and trade mark applications and protection requirements.
“We see great growth opportunities in our combined offering, with a focus on assisting our clients in protecting and commercialising their IP assets being a key element of the ongoing development of our Business Services Platform.
“This is a strategic acquisition directly aligned to our Platform strategy. The successful completion of the acquisition means that the group has now acquired consultancy businesses, complementary to its legal services, on all four Platforms.
“This strategy continues to differentiate Gateley, to widen our breadth of services and enhance our appeal to both existing and potential clients. We are actively appraising opportunities to further grow each Platform both organically and by acquisition.”
