Stowe Family Law has been bought out by Livingbridge, a private equity firm, for over £10 million.
The specialist family law firm, which was set up by Marilyn Stowe in 1982, has acted for over 20,000 clients and has a network of ten offices across the UK.
Livingbridge has said that it will help the firm to build a larger national footprint and is planning to open up to 30 additional offices over the next five years. The deal will allow Stowe to explore new opportunities.
“I will always be involved with the firm, and I am particularly thrilled it will continue to bear my name,” she said.
“It has been my most important ambition for this firm and its clients to thrive following my departure and I have achieved this with Livingbridge. Today also marks an incredible personal milestone for me, having built Stowe Family Law up over decades from a converted cobbler’s shop in East Leeds.
“The families and individuals that my fantastic team and I have helped have always been at the heart of my career. I went into the legal profession to give back to society and to fight injustice and that’s a legacy I know will be continued by all my colleagues at Stowe Family Law. I’m now very much looking forward to exploring new opportunities to use my experience to help address some of the issues that matter most to me.”
Charles Hartwell, the CEO of Stowe Family Law, said that the future for the firm looked very bright following the investment from Livingbridge.
“We have a great team, offering exceptional service in difficult cases and the investment will allow us to take our personal service to a much wider audience across the country. We will always pride ourselves on our expertise, authority and commitment to delivering straightforward advice in a professional and caring way,” he said.
Daniel Smith who works in the investment team for Livingbridge, said that the firm was a great success story and that it had become the largest specialist family law firm in the UK under Stowe’s ownership.
“ Livingbridge is delighted to have the opportunity to invest in SFL and work with the team,” he said.
“The business is in fantastic shape with a talented team of leaders, solicitors and staff who are at the top of their game. We look forward to working with SFL to continue delivering great client service and to grow the business further.”
