DWF latest law firm to catch flotation bug with £1bn IPO

International law firm DWF is the latest law firm to signal its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange with a sale that could raise up to £1bn.

The Times first reported that the firm was mulling an Initial Public Offering (IPO). It was later confirmed by the firm in a statement on its website.

“We have been considering a number of strategic options for our business, including the possibility of an IPO on the London Stock Exchange,” the firm said. “If we were to proceed with an IPO, we believe that it would enable us to achieve our strategic objectives more quickly, while also enhancing our ability to attract and retain the best talent and to incentivise our people by aligning them through offering ownership within the business.

“We are focused on an IPO, however, a number of options are available to us, and we can still continue to build on our success to date, with the support of our clients, under our current structure. For the time being, it is very much business as usual for us, our clients and our business partners as we continue to focus on delivering the excellent service which our clients have come to expect of us.”

Law firm listing has become a growing trend in recent years. A poll of finance directors at the UK’s top 100 law firms by Thomson Reuters shows that 20 per cent would consider an IPO, up from 12 per cent the previous year.

There are now four law firms listed in London after Rosenblatt listed last month raising £31.8m.

Later this month Knights is aiming for the UK’s largest-ever law firm flotation which is expected to value the business in excess of £100m.

Gateley was the first English law firm to go public in 2015, followed by Keystone and Gordon Dadds in 2017 and Rosenblatt last month.

Read more: Will the number of listed law firms double over the next 12 months