Newcastle law firm Sintons has sold a business division to a North West company, as part of moves to focus on its commercial and private clients.
The Barrack Road-based business has sold its defendant insurance business to Keoghs in a deal which sees its team – led by Jamie McCabe – transfer to Keoghs.
Keoghs, headquartered in Bolton, has nine bases aroud the UK now opened its first North East office in Newcastle, in Market Street, to house the team.
The value of the transaction has not been disclosed and it has not been revealed how many former Sintons employees transfer to the newly-launched office, in Broadacre House.
Mark Quigley, managing partner of Sintons, said: “As a firm, we are proud of the national reputation we have gained in this very specialist area.
“However, this is just one part of our business and we believe that our employees, and our defendant insurance clients, will benefit from being part of a firm whose entire focus is on delivering legal services to the insurance industry.
“This enables us, moving forwards, to focus on key areas of the business to enable the continued growth of our private client and commercial offering as well as investing in our growing area of providing specialist services to clients who have suffered life-changing injuries.”
John Whittle, Keoghs’ chief executive officer, added: “We are delighted to welcome the team to Keoghs and particularly pleased to open in Newcastle, a vibrant city with a strong insurance presence.
“The UK defendant insurance market is consolidating and we make no secret of our desire to continue to drive consolidation and cement our position as the undisputed pre-eminent provider of legal services in this space.
“The team add even further depth to our already leading large and catastrophic loss capability and we welcome them with enthusiasm.”
Last year Sintons said its five-year growth plan was starting to bear bruit as it posted a rise in turnover and profits, and said it had started a recruitment drive to bring in 50 additional lawyers into the business.
