We have advised Harper James, a full-service commercial law firm, on securing investment from LDC to support the next phase of growth.
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.
Since launching in 2014, Harper James has supported more than 6,500 clients and now has a team of over 140 people. It is a people-first business with a strong focus on work-life balance, an established culture and core values. Technology has always underpinned the firm’s model and it is developing innovative and proprietary technology to optimise and leverage efficiencies through AI. The business has achieved consistent double-digit year-on-year growth, with revenue increasing annually by an average of 33% over the past three years.
LDC is backing the firm’s management team, led by founder and CEO Toby Harper. LDC will support the business with 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.
More about the process
With significant interest from potential investors, we ran a highly competitive process, leveraging competitive tension to maximise value and terms, supported by our Debt Advisory team to underpin the financing strategy, and ensuring selection of the best partner for Harper James.
LDC stood out for their clear understanding of Harper James’ opportunities and scaling challenges, and for their dedicated in-house value creation team capable of tailoring initiatives around technology, operational efficiency and targeted acquisitions. Throughout the process, we ensured alignment between Harper James and LDC on structure and governance, laying the groundwork for a partnership poised to support the next phase of growth.
