Knights: Listed law firm expands into corporate finance through joint venture with Convex
Listed law firm Knights announced that it has entered a joint venture with the former Convex Capital management team to form Convex Corporate Finance.
Knights has provided £2.55m of debt and equity financing to the Manchester-based sell-side advisory firm Convex, which was funded from the group’s existing cash resources.
Founded in 2010, Convex advised on deals valued at over £3bn in aggregate and worked on sales for its owner-managed clients, including the recent sales of Gorilla Accounting to Azets (UK), Thoroughbred Remedies Manufacturing to Equine Care Group (Belgium) and Metallisation to Kymera (USA).
The sell-side firm was acquired from RBG Holdings on 28 March 2024 by its management team through a joint venture with Knights. The management of Convex is led by James Edge, Isaac Asamoah and Tom Campbell.
Knights stated that the joint venture is in line with its strategy to diversify the range of professional services it has by expanding its M&A legal services into corporate finance.
Convex’s team of 11 will relocate to the Knights Manchester office based at Two St Peter’s Square, which it moved into in 2019. The plan is for the Convex team to work closely with group corporate and private client teams to provide clients with a full suite of premium, seamless services to vendors.
In November, Knights reported this it anticipated that its half-year revenue would increase by a single digit to £75.3m, highlighting that performance was in line with the board’s expectations.
Commenting on the deal, David Beech, CEO of Knights explained: “Convex has built a reputation as one of the leading sell-side only M&A practices in the UK and the cultural fit with its dynamic and hungry management team is strong, creating a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship for Knights and Convex.”
“This JV will allow us to continue diversifying our offering to clients, who require a broader range of services beyond legal while supporting our future organic growth,” he added.
While James Edge, managing partner of Convex noted: “We have an exceptionally talented team and strong growth ambitions which we had not been able to fulfil under previous ownership.”
He added that “by management taking control of the business, we are delighted Convex is back in the hands of entrepreneurs with a passion to continue to provide UK entrepreneurs best in class exit advice.”