Financial advisory firm Frenkel Topping has acquired legal costs consultancy Bidwell Henderson Costs Consultants for £1.48m.

The first £0.74m is payable on completion and the balance of which will fall due in two equal tranches of £0.37m on the first and second anniversary post completion.

The sellers will also receive an earn-out of 2.5x the EBITDA generated in the year to 31 December 2023 over £296,000 capped at £2 million.

The acquisition is part of the firm’s strategy to drive consolidation of the pre-settlement professional services marketing in personal injury and clinical negligence. Bidwell Henderson drafts high-cost case plans which are required when significant costs are involved in large scale and complex legal cases. The Derbyshire and Newcastle upon Tyne-based consultancy was established in 2014 and employs 55 people across the two offices.

Richard Fraser, CEO of Frenkel Topping, said: "I am delighted to welcome Bidwell Henderson to the Group. Over the past seven years Mark, Ann and Rebecca have built a leading legal costs consultancy and were well known to the group prior to discussions around the acquisition. This acquisition is in line with our strategy of maximising touch points in the PI and Clin Neg space with the added benefit of being able to sell Frenkel Topping services into existing Bidwell Henderson clients and look to further the AUM growth of the Group."

Frenkel Topping released a trading statement in June saying it is looking for more acquisitions as it looks to extend its pipeline of potential purchases. 

In its annual results released in May, the firm said it had raised £13m to funds its merger and acquisition strategy.

Recent acquisitions Forth Associates, A&M Bacon Limited and Partners in Costs Limited have now all been fully integrated into the group.

In 2020 Frenkel Topping’s revenue rose 19% to £10.2m (2019: £8.6m) with recurring revenue making up £7.2m of the total figure. Assets under management rose to exceed £1bn. 

Frenkel Topping will publish its half year financial results on 20 September 2021.