Simply Conveyancing snaps up older rival Pirie Palmann
Acquisition makes the legal firm one of the largest conveyancers in the UK with over 300 employees and now five offices.
Consolidation within the conveyancing sector has taken a significant step forward following the purchase of Peterborough-based firm Pirie Palmann by corporate giant Simply Conveyancing.
The acquisition of the 27-year-old legal firm is part of Simply’s aggressive push for expansion. The sums paid by it for its rival have not been disclosed.
Following the acquisition, Simply now has over 300 employees following the addition of Pirie Palmann’s 82 employees, and it now has five offices across and is one of the largest conveyancing providers within the housing sector.
Pirie Palmann was founded by Marion Palmann and Chris Pirie (pictured, above) in 1994 and does business in both a local, regional and national capacity.
Simply Conveyancing was established in 2000 and its early clients included Early clients included many of the early incarnations of today’s big corporate estate agencies.
These included Friends Provident, Halifax and eventually all the brands belonging to what’s now HBOS including the old Black Horse agencies.
Estate agency
In 2009 Simply moved away from corporate panel management to concentrate on the independent estate agency and mortgage broking market.
Simply Conveyancing Property Lawyers was formed and since then has rapidly grown, backed financially by private equity firm Livingbridge.
Simply CEO Rob Grimshaw (main pic, right) says: “The acquisition of Pirie Palmann is a great match for Simply Conveyancing as its experienced team and commitment to quality reflect our own values.
“Together, we are a formidable force in the sector and a highly capable partner for referring agents.
“Our innovative approach to flexible ways of working and investment in technology mean we’re well positioned for rapid growth.”
An interesting move by Simply, providing additional UK capacity. The capacity issue -whether to acquire teams or grow organically around home-grown processes, and where to locate – will be a critical one. One of the challenges for all conveyancing firms will be to manage their cost base in the UK over the next few years, given clear inflationary pressures on salaries, coupled with limited opportunity to push legal fees up.