Legal Business Blogs

Investing in law: Parabis secures £13m from Duke Street to fund upgrades

Parabis Group has secured a further £13m investment from private equity company Duke Street Capital with the aim to improve IT systems, property and staff.

Following several months of restructuring and refocusing its business, Parabis Law will use the investment to upgrade and integrate new IT systems, consolidate offices and overhaul internal systems including the intranet to improve communication.

The investment highlights Duke Street’s long-term commitment to Parabis, after the private equity house became the first investor to fund the firm in 2012.

Tim Roberts, group commercial director and founding partner at Parabis, said: ‘This investment provides Parabis with the firepower to move confidently into the future as we use the best talent and technology to unlock extraordinary opportunities for our customers. Duke Street has underlined its long-term commitment to this strategy which is already transforming the way the market views legal services.’

Duke Street Capital partner Charlie Troup added: ‘The changes to the legal services sector through liberalisation and increased competition have been more profound than anyone anticipated in 2010; we believe the strongest firms will not only embrace these changes but also lead them. Parabis has done this through its entry into consumer law and the evolution of its ABS models; together we are building a sustainable competitive business which will benefit customers and employees alike.’

In October 2014, Parabis closed its entire claimant offering in Croydon after Cogent Law made 24 redundancies. This followed the closure of Parabis’ Bristol and Colchester offices earlier that same month, as the group looked to consolidate its businesses after partnering with Direct Line Group to become an ABS at the beginning of the year.

The firm is also set to consolidate more offices in various locations, including London, in a bid to use fewer sites as part of the firm’s long-term strategy for facilities, resources and cross-team working.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk