Hamlins acquires Swan Turton
Hamlins has entered a new period of growth with the acquisition of boutique practice Swan Turton to boost its market-leading media and tech practices.
The deal marks a change in approach by Hamlins, which is seeking to expand the expertise of its highly regarded team which acts for many public figures and leading brands.
Hamlins specialises in media, sport, real estate, retail, leisure and tech. It has been lead solicitor in all phone hacking cases brought against News Group Newspapers for a number of years, and is now acting for claimants against Associated Newspapers. The firm has also pioneered claims against Channel 5 for invasion of privacy on the TV show ‘Can’t Pay, We’ll Take It Away’.
High-profile individual clients include Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, broadcaster Clare Balding, and former Spice Girls Mel B and Melanie Chisholm, as well as sports organisations like the England and Wales Cricket Board and Professional Triathletes Organisation. The firm’s outstanding real estate and corporate and commercial teams work for the likes of Foxtons Europe, Palace Capital PLC, LEON Restaurants, Structadene Group, Powerleague, Shutterstock, NCP, William Pears Group and Winkworth PLC.
The acquisition of Swan Turton will see three partners – Stuart Barry, Julian Bentley and Catherine Fehler – two fee-earners and two other staff moving over, along with three consultants, including founder Julian Turton. This will take Hamlins’ headcount to 100, including 20 partners.
Swan Turton is particularly well known for its music work and acting for comedians and actors. Through its work for PBJ Management, it has represented Adam Buxton, Noel Fielding, Eddie Izzard, Nish Kumar, Tim Minchin and Howard Goodall. Novelist Sebastian Faulks is another client.
Hamlins managing partner Matthew Pryke says: “This deal is a milestone in our evolution, bringing together two firms at the top of their game. It makes a lot of sense for both of us. Their expertise both deepens and expands our services, especially on the non-contentious side, while Swan Turton clients will have access to our broader offering. Most importantly, there is a fantastic cultural fit between our two firms.”
In music, for example, Hamlins is a leading firm on rights and copyright infringement claims – acting for record label BMG and PPL PRS Ltd – while Swan Turton represents a host of top bands and recording artists, including the estate of Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, Madness, and seminal electronic artists Underworld and Leftfield.
Julian Bentley, another founding partner of Swan Turton, says the partners had received several approaches but Hamlins stood out for both the synergies between the two practices and its culture: “At the heart of this deal is that we felt we would be really comfortable with these people.”
He continues: “It seemed sensible for the long-term future of our practice to merge with a firm able to provide our clients with a much wider range of legal services. We have had an incredibly positive reaction and see it as an opportunity to build on the many successes of Swan Turton over the past 19 years.”
Matthew Pryke is in his second term as managing partner and has led Hamlins through a significant period of modernisation, including moving from offices in Regent Street, where the firm had been located since the 1980s, to a modern workspace at the signature No.1 Kingsway building.
Turnover has increased by more than a quarter since he took over in 2020, with the addition of Swan Turton set to bring a further significant rise this year. Profits continue to grow alongside this investment in the business. The plan is to continue on this trajectory so that it can continue to thrive amid the rising cost of technology and regulation.
Mr Pryke says: “We are firmly established as a top practice in each of our sectors and have growing capacity to support clients across a wide range of activities. The model is working well and so we are actively looking to build it further.”
Hamlins is looking to maintain its brand and culture, and so is targeting bolt-ons rather than mergers. Giles Bright joined last month as a commercial disputes partner from Bankside Commercial, bringing the central London firm’s disputes practice with him. It also hired a new head of employment, Penny Hunt, from Bird & Bird, at the start of the year.
Until now, the firm has been happy operating under the radar. Joseph Holder, senior partner, says the firm recognises that in order to deliver its strategy, “the market needs to know more about us”. He adds: “Our culture, clients and ambition make us an attractive proposition for other lawyers and, in a competitive market for talent, we will now be more vocal about what we do.”