Prudential investment arm M&G Real Estate has finalised its external legal panel with places going to Hogan Lovells, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG), and CMS Cameron McKenna following a tender process.
Financials 2014/15: Wragge reveals £181m turnover for first full year post-merger
Ahead of its recently announced tie-up in Canada, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co has posted turnover of £181m for its first full financial year post-merger, a moderate revenue increase of 5% over the combined results of the legacy firms Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham.
Continue reading “Financials 2014/15: Wragge reveals £181m turnover for first full year post-merger”
Financials 2013/14: Wragges last accounts show rise in profit as number of staff falls
Wragge & Co’s last limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts before it merged with Lawrence Graham show that profit before remuneration grew by 8%, climbing from £39.5m to £42.6m as the number of staff employed fell by 106.
Partner promotions: Wragges and DAC Beachcroft make up significantly more lawyers; Olswang promotes two
Ahead of its 1 May merger with City firm Lawrence Graham, Wragge & Co has more than doubled the number of partner promotions it made last year to five, including two in its housing, development & regeneration team.
Regions cash in on corporate spike as Wragges sells NEC and DLA Piper floats Manchester’s Boohoo
Two multi-million pound regional deals have been announced in the past week, as Wragge & Co advises Birmingham City Council on the sale of the iconic National Exhibition Centre (NEC) for around £300m and DLA Piper’s Manchester office leads on the £560m float of local success story Boohoo.com. Continue reading “Regions cash in on corporate spike as Wragges sells NEC and DLA Piper floats Manchester’s Boohoo”
Wragges announces post-merger management line-up but Addleshaws faces scrutiny over leadership team
For Addleshaw Goddard the timing could have been more flattering. On the day that national rival Wragge & Co confirmed a new look management line-up in anticipation of its tie-up with Lawrence Graham (LG) in May, uncomfortable attention has been focused on the leadership of national rival Addleshaws.
In the wake of Wragges’ announcement in December that its £171m merger will go ahead, with Wragge Lawrence Graham expected to edge ahead of Addleshaws in the LB100 top 25 for the first time, the firm today (17 February) confirmed that its five core practice group heads have now been decided, all who will sit on the management board, with four of the appointments coming from Wragges and one from LG. Continue reading “Wragges announces post-merger management line-up but Addleshaws faces scrutiny over leadership team”
Sealed at last – Wragges secures major City merger as vote backs LG tie-up to forge £171m practice
After years of rejecting the need for a City presence – and subsequent years hunting for a major London deal – Midlands giant Wragge & Co has finalised its tie-up with Lawrence Graham.
The proposed deal, which was confirmed last month, was backed in a partner vote earlier this week, with the combined firm set to unify as Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co from 1 May 2014.
With a majority of more than 75% required from both partnerships, the combination will create a £171m business with 1,300 staff, including 770 lawyers, operating from ten offices worldwide. Continue reading “Sealed at last – Wragges secures major City merger as vote backs LG tie-up to forge £171m practice”
Comment: ‘Mishcon’ no more but a City player at last? Wragges needs a big deal and the old magic
‘Wragge & Co was the Mishcon of its day.’ That statement from a former veteran of the Midlands giant sums it up in many ways.
In the late 1990s Wragges wasn’t just the best law firm the English regions had bred, it was a firm that broke the rules. The mix of flair, quality lawyering and an ability to astutely break away from the herd had few if any direct comparisons at the time. Wragges had a recognition and respect in the City absent from most national and regional competitors. More than that, Wragges stood out from rivals and could quicken the professional pulse in a way that Mishcon de Reya does today. Continue reading “Comment: ‘Mishcon’ no more but a City player at last? Wragges needs a big deal and the old magic”
If the shoe just about fits – Wragges in merger talks with Lawrence Graham
Proposed merger promises Birmingham firm significant City presence.
The announcement last month that Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham (LG) are in merger talks makes a lot of sense on many levels, although competitors have inevitably been quick to point out obvious pitfalls.
Both firms have been hunting for suitors for a long time and for Wragges, the talks could provide the serious London foothold that has so long eluded it, despite a series of high-profile Birmingham transfers and London hires.
Continue reading “If the shoe just about fits – Wragges in merger talks with Lawrence Graham”
‘Mishcon’ no more but a City player at last? Wragges needs a big deal and the old magic
‘Wragge & Co was the Mishcon of its day.’ That statement from a former veteran of the Midlands giant sums it up in many ways.
In the late 1990s Wragges wasn’t just the best law firm the English regions had bred, it was a firm that broke the rules. The mix of flair, quality lawyering and an ability to astutely break away from the herd had few if any direct comparisons at the time. Wragges had a recognition and respect in the City absent from most national and regional competitors. More than that, Wragges stood out from rivals and could quicken the professional pulse in a way that Mishcon de Reya does today.
That’s not to say that the intervening years have been a disaster. The 119-partner firm remains a perfectly respectable performer. But along the way too many strategic shuffles and an uncertain crack at the City has stolen Wragges’ mystique. The firm also arguably allowed its practice to become too diffuse and lacked clarity over which section of the market it was focusing on, to the detriment of its corporate practice. Wragges’ famed morale is now, well, just like the rest.