Mayo Wynne Baxter joins Ampa to support expansion plans

Leading Sussex law firm Mayo Wynne Baxter has joined national legal and professional services group Ampa to enhance its ambitious plans for growth.

Mayo Wynne Baxter, founded more than 150 years ago in Lewes, will continue to operate as a separate LLP retaining its brand and growing its market position as it continues to deliver legal services for businesses, people and their families throughout the South East.

No money will be exchanged as part of the merger and the firm’s equity partners will merge into Ampa’s membership. Mayo Wynne Baxter’s move to join Ampa is part of a wider strategy shared by the businesses for growth, collaboration and combined infrastructure, as well as shared values supporting clients and the community.

Joining the group will enable Mayo Wynne Baxter to increase its service offering for clients, tapping into more than 900 experts across the group of brands and Ampa’s group London hub. The group is proactively looking to recruit talented people and teams across the region and no redundancies are planned.  

Dean Orgill, Chief Executive Partner at Mayo Wynne Baxter, said: “A merger with Ampa, which shares our values, will enable us to do even more to support our clients, people and our local community. It’s an exciting time in our firm’s evolution, which will build on its historic foundations.

“We are recruiting proactively across Sussex, Surrey and Kent to grow the business and deliver more opportunities for jobs as well as internal career progression. Being part of the Ampa group enables us to increase the pace of this programme.”

Joining the likes of full-service Midlands and London-based law firm Shakespeare Martineau and planning consultancy Marrons Planning, Mayo Wynne Baxter will become the regional anchor brand for Ampa in the South East.

Mayo Wynne Baxter’s personal injury and clinical negligence teams will join Ampa’s existing national consumer-focussed law brand Lime Solicitors, with full continuity of service for clients, adding around £1.2m additional turnover to Lime Solicitors.

Dean Orgill will sit on the Ampa group board while also working with the firm’s partners to steer the growth of Mayo Wynne Baxter as a regional anchor brand for the group.

Sarah Walker-Smith, Group CEO at Ampa, said: “Clients and people across our sector are crying out for change and transformation. It’s time to consider the agile needs of clients more broadly and step away from the traditional consolidation model; Ampa does just that.

“A key benefit of our group is shared access to greater support for the benefit of our clients, whether that be from other legal professionals across different brands, or our combined business operations capabilities alongside greater career development opportunities for our people. Through greater buying power and significant opportunities to collaborate on projects, we will deliver enhanced benefit for our people and clients, in life and business.  

“Each brand in our group is empowered to deliver on its growth ambitions and retaining autonomy whilst collaborating with each other when it makes sense to do so for the greater good.

“Mayo Wynne Baxter has a unique geography, local market affinity, excellent client relationships, strong employer brand and a great reputation – which is why it is so important that it maintains its brand and market positions. It has been great to meet and now go into partnership with a similarly progressive business and like-minded people to help us drive the Ampa vision.”

Ampa, which has pending B Corporation status, also includes cyber security company CSS Assure and uninsured loss recovery experts Corclaim as well as Shakespeare Martineau, Marrons Planning and its consumer brand Lime Solicitors. All Ampa brands are recruiting lateral hires and teams, and the group is proactively looking for like-minded businesses to join the group.

Mayo Wynne Baxter has started its transition to the group and its equity partners will officially become members of Ampa from 1 May 2022.

The merger will take Ampa to a turnover above £100m for 2022/23 and a group of more than 1,100 people immediately.