Ince Gordon Dadds CEO Adrian Biles

Ince Gordon Dadds has hit back at criticism of the handling of its acquisition of Ince & Co in a pre-pack administration, saying it is pleased with the outcome.

Former Ince partners have been left facing bills of up to £500,000 if, as they suspect, the pre-pack nature of the acquisition means they will not be repaid capital or money stashed away by the firm for tax purposes. Some said they felt "betrayed" by their former colleagues who signed up for such a deal.

But Ince Gordon Dadds partner Stephen Jarvis, who was also formerly at Ince, said: "How do they think we feel? We feel betrayed by them. They went to rival firms. These people left a 150-year-old firm."

"What we've got is exactly what we wanted to get with the deal"

When asked about the execution of the acquisition, Ince Gordon Dadds CEO Adrian Biles added that he was pleased with how it concluded. He said: "What we've got is exactly what we wanted to get with the deal. We've ended up exactly where we wanted to be."

Biles was also bullish on the predicament faced by former partners. He said: "The reality is that this is debt that is owed by the partners. I would suggest wait and see." When asked where the capital could possibly come from, Biles said there were numerous possibilities, one being "recoveries against others, a third party for instance", although he could not specify who.

"The pre-pack wasn't part of the original idea"

Though Gordon Dadds' takeover of Daveport Lyons in 2014 was also conducted by way of a pre-pack sale, Biles insists the most recent acquisition was unexpected, and that a pre-pack was only agreed last minute.

"The pre-pack wasn't part of the original idea," said Biles. "But the fact is it became apparent it was necessary. Yes, Davenport Lyons was a pre-pack, but it was a different sort of deal."

Biles said the firm consulted a "pre-pack pool", which is a governing body that is sponsored by industry bodies including the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and that the pool deemed their pre-pack agreement to be "fair and reasonable".

The takeover has resulted in a redundancy process at the firm and Biles added that he expects to see further job losses as integration takes place.

The administration process has also resulted in a dispute with Ince & Co's landlords and confusion about the future of Ince's international offices, which were not included in the deal.

Biles said the firm had now reached an agreement with the landlords but did not give further information.

"The profession of law is changing remarkably quickly and you need to be big enough to weather the storm"

The firm is in ongoing discussions with all of Ince & Co's international offices, including those in France and Monaco, which had previously been excluded from the combination.

Biles said: "We're building a relationships with people in those offices and are dealing with a negotiation committee. We want to make it clear to France and Monaco what the deal means to them, which was probably not made clear before. It's an emotional rather than strategic problem."

If the talks are successful, the international offices would retain Ince & Co branding, with only the firm's London, Shanghai and Beijing offices to be called Ince Gordon Dadds, he said.

Biles added: "The partners in all of the international offices are in process of having their capital repaid. There is a network services agreement in place, and the object of the exercise is to conclude the acquisition.

"The only obstacle is to make sure regulatory arrangements are satisfactory in each jurisdiction. We're confident we'll be able to do this."

Commenting on the firm's aggressive growth strategy, Biles said: "The profession of law is changing remarkably quickly and you need to be big enough to weather the storm, and have enough cash to do so. You're in a much better place to answer these questions with £100m rather than a £1m income.

"If you've got £1m, you can't do anything but follow the market, but with £100m you can be on the front foot and can work out what clients need from a position of financial security. That's why we want to be bigger."