Law firm Mishcon de Reya mulls London IPO

Mishcon de Reya, the London-based law firm, will explore the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange later this year after its partners voted in favour of the strategy.

On Wednesday, the firm said an IPO on the premium segment of the LSE will allow it to accelerate the expansion of its legal and advisory services as well as offering the opportunity to invest in “high growth potential opportunities contiguous to its current operations”.

The outfit said it has mandated JP Morgan Cazenove to advise it on the potential float, which it said could take place as early as the fourth quarter of the year.

Mishcon said that as part of the IPO every member of staff will become a shareholder in the business, adding that it expects to report revenues of around £188mln for the year to April 9, 2021.

“I am delighted that the leadership team is mandated to explore a public listing as we look to further develop our offering to clients. It will enable us to invest in talent, our core areas, our allied services, as well as technology and Asia. I am also proud that my partners have decided to award shares to all staff. It means every single one of our people will have a meaningful stake in our business”, Mishcon de Reya’s executive chair Kevin Gold said in a statement.

The law firm is set to join a number of other LSE-listed law firms including AIM-listed () and DWF Group PLC ().

However, one potential snag in Mishcon de Reya’s plans is an ongoing investigation into the firm by the Solicitors Regulation Authority )SRA) over allegations made in 2017 and 2018, although in its announcement the firm said it “continues to engage” with the SRA on the matters.