Merger creates UK’s largest debt recovery law firm

Specialist debt recovery law firms, Drydens Lawyers and Fairfax Solicitors, are to merge creating the UK’s largest firm of its type.

With a combined workforce of around 300 and turnover of £15 million the firm will trade under the brand of drydensfairfax solicitors.

Both firms have a strong pedigree having been part of national law firms before separating to become specialist debt collection and debt litigation practices. They represent some of the country’s largest financial institutions as well as key government departments. Drydens is ranked as a national ‘Top Tier’ debt recovery firm by independent directory Legal 500.

Drydens executive chairman, Philip Holden, will lead the new entity as CEO with Peter Wordsworth, current CEO at Fairfax taking on the key role of director of client management and business development for all drydensfairfax clients.

Holden commented: “This really is a merger in every sense of the word; Drydens is particularly strong on secured recoveries and Fairfax is focused on unsecured and government work.

“The new operation combines an excellent debt collection business with an exceptional debt litigation practice. As a regulated law firm with the highest levels of compliance combined with a quality culture and strength in depth we are in a unique position to take advantage of these factors and grow our business.”

Leading the client relationship management and new business teams is Peter Wordsworth who established Fairfax solicitors after completing a management buy out from Eversheds in September 2009.

Wordsworth said: “The most important thing to me is how positive and supportive the clients have been about the news of the merger.

“It is clear that at a time when several of them are looking to integrate their secured and unsecured recoveries operations and all of them are looking for scalable and highly compliant service providers the merger makes perfect sense.

“I am very excited about the holistic solution we are now able to offer and am looking forward to working with our clients to maximise the benefits that the merger will bring to them."

It is expected the merger will formally complete on 2 April 2012. Initially the firm will operate from its existing two sites in Leeds and Bradford with plans to re-locate everyone to the award-winning, purpose built offices of Drydens in Bradford later in the year.