Gateley IPO values top 10 UK law firms at over £17bn

On Monday law firm Gateley placed 31,589.937 shares on the AIM, representing 30% of the legal services provider which gave it a market capitalisation or value of £100m. On the face of it the law firm has been conservatively valued at something around 5 times earnings based on last year’s reported profits of just over £20 million.  Gateley posted revenues of £52.8m last year so that’s something around 38% margin which is good in any business.

Applying the same principles to the top 10 – 5 times most recently reported profits and the top 10 UK law firms are valued at over £17bn.

Pretty cool but it’s going to take a merger or acquisition to create something big enough to break into the FTSE 100 - firms will have to shoot at the global engineering group Meggit PLC which today is valued around the £3.85bn level.  

*Profits for CMS Cameron McKenna have been estimated based on reported turnover and past profit margins.