Shepherd and Wedderburn still on takeover trail

Stephen Gibb: actively looking at other opportunities

Speaking to Scotland on Sunday a week after the dramatic move to buy 158-year-old Tods out of administration was announced, chief executive Stephen Gibb said his firm was still on the takeover trail.

“We are really excited about the potential coming out of this and are actively looking at other opportunities just now. We have one which we hope will go live within the next month or two,” he said.

“We clearly have a big job to do integrating the two businesses and we will work as hard as we possibly can on that, but we won’t stop looking at opportunities as they come up and there is one in particular we expect to come to fruition.”

The firm had been given two weeks in which to decide whether to take on the business and assets of Tods Murray. A pre-pack arrangement was necessary if the business was to be preserved, as the Law Society does not allow practices to be traded in administration.

“This clearly was an opportunity that was presented to us, but our strategy for some time has been to be a market leader in Scotland and we saw this opportunity as being pretty perfect,” said Gibb. “Tods was a good name with good quality people and good clients, so that kind of opportunity you don’t pass by.”

Gibb said he could not comment on 50 jobs which are threatened following the deal, as they are subject to a consultation. He said the integration process had started encouragingly, with many clients choosing to follow former Tods Murray lawyers to Shepherd and Wedderburn.