A Scottish intellectual property group has bought an English rival for an undisclosed sum in its second deal in recent months.
In September, Murgitroyd bought Hanna Moore + Curley, an Irish practice that specialises in advising technology companies.
Its latest acquisition, UDL Intellectual Property, is based in Leeds and has offices in Bristol, Cardiff, London, Milton Keynes and Newcastle. Its 80 staff will transfer to Murgitroyd, with the enlarged business comprising about 440 staff, including 125 patent and trademark lawyers.
Murgitroyd, founded in Glasgow in 1975, has 20 sites in Britain and the European Union, as well as offices in the United States and China.
In 2019 it was taken off the London Stock Exchange by Sovereign Capital, a private equity firm, in a £65 million deal.
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Gordon Stark, 45, Murgitroyd’s chief executive, said that there were no plans to close any offices as part of the UDL transaction and that other acquisitions were being considered. He said: “This is a meaningful step forward in our growth plans, which enhances the reach of Murgitroyd in the UK and strengthens our overall presence in Europe.
“We are seeing a broader strategic need for our services from clients and the acquisition of UDL adds scale and capability. UDL has roots going back 100 years and that is something we have to carefully balance in the integration transition. With the two recent deals, the company will have grown by about 40 per cent in terms of turnover. Further opportunities are of interest and it is something we will be looking to do over the coming months and years.”
