Freeth Cartwright is set to expand its UK presence to Milton Keynes, with the takeover of seven-partner property boutique Kimbells.

The merger, which will take effect on 1 November, will see Kimbells' existing Milton Keynes office rebranding as Kimbells Freeth.

The rest of the firm will continue to operate as Freeth Cartwright across its six offices in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Manchester, Birmingham and London.

Kimbells' Milton Keynes office includes five property partners, one corporate and one litigation partner, with the firm comprising 29 lawyers in total. It has a particular focus on advising clients in the beverage and leisure sectors, with clients including Scottish & Newcastle and Heineken.

Freeth Cartwright, meanwhile, has 83 partners firm-wide, with fee income for the financial year ending 31 March amounting to just over £32m. The Midlands firm, which also has a strong property focus, services clients including Lafarge and Barratt Homes.

Kimbells founding partner Peter Holden commented: "This is a superb opportunity for us to become involved in a highly-respected firm who are keen for us to develop further our presence in the region from a very strong Milton Keynes office."

He added: "Importantly, by offering complementary services and additional resource, it will enable us to become the market leader in our sector specialism of drinks, hospitality & leisure."

The transaction will result in several redundancies in Kimbells' support team. However, all 29 solicitors will remain with the firm post-merger.