BTG advises LDC on its investment in Harper James Limited

About the deal:

Harper James, a full-service commercial law firm purpose built to enable growth-oriented businesses to succeed, has secured investment from LDC, part of Lloyds Banking Group.

Headquartered in Birmingham, Harper James delivers tailored legal support to SMEs across the UK through a transparent and cost-effective subscription-based model that can scale according to their needs. Clients have access to a network of fully remote top-tier lawyers – with an average of 17+ years’ experience – at a fraction of the cost of traditional city law firms.

LDC is backing the firm’s management team, led by founder and CEO Toby Harper. The leading private equity investor will support continued organic growth through further investment into Harper James’ differentiated, technology-enabled model and will also support Harper James to target complementary acquisitions that broaden the firm’s range of services and add even more value for its clients.

The investment was led by LDC’s West Midlands team, including Partner and Head of the West Midlands, Chris Handy, and Investment Directors Karen Mann and Matt Newbold.

How we add value:

• Full buy-side support – Delivered financial analysis and modelling, management of all due diligence workstreams, and coordination of legal, tax and other advisers.
• Market intelligence – Provided detailed valuation input, exit review and market mapping to support LDC’s buy-and-build strategy.
• Strategic advisor – Acted as an independent sounding board on deal strategy, supporting negotiation of key commercial and legal terms.

Simon Ward Managing Partner said:

“It was an absolute pleasure to work with Chris and the wider LDC team on this important investment.  Harper James is an outstanding and innovative business that is truly disrupting the legal services market for SMES. We wish Harper James and LDC every success in the future.”