History
Davies Wallis was founded in 1977 in Liverpool[2] and merged with Dodds Ashcroft in 1989.[2]
A merger with Foysters in 1990[2] brought a Manchester office and a change of name to Davies Wallis Foyster, which was abbreviated to DWF in 2007,[2] shortly after the acquisition of Ricksons.[10] The Ricksons acquisition added offices in Preston and Leeds. DWF opened a London office in 2008.[11]
A series of acquisitions in 2012 and 2013 added offices in Birmingham (Buller Jeffries),[12] Newcastle (Crutes),[13] Glasgow and Edinburgh (both Biggart Baillie),[14] Bristol, Dublin and a second London office (Fishburns),[15] before acquiring Cobbetts through a pre-pack administration.[16]
In 2014, DWF reported a 23% increase in net profit from £20.8 million in 2012/13 to £25.5 million in its first full year financial results following four mergers.[17]
DWF opened an office in Dubai in March 2015, the firm's first office outside of the British Isles.[18]
DWF opened six offices in 2017, including two new operations in Continental Europe. The firm opened in Berlin after hiring two lawyers from DLA Piper. It also launched its first office in France through a merger with four-partner Paris firm Heenan Blaikie. In the Asia Pacific region, DWF also launched two offices in Melbourne and Brisbane through a combination with independent firm MVM Legal.
DWF further opened in Singapore after hiring from Eversheds Sutherland's practice. It gained bases in Sydney, Chicago and Toronto after the acquisition of claims company Triton in January.[19]
DWF posted strong results for H1 2017/18, with revenue up 23% and net profit growing by circa 33%. Turnover for H1 2017/18 was £113.5m in a period marked by a spate of office openings in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.[20]
In June 2018, DWF announced its intention to seek a stock exchange listing.[7]
The firm strengthened the IPO business case with a double-digit growth in September 2018. DWF posted revenue growth of 18% from £201.3m to £236m ($309m) for 2017/18 ahead of the firm's initial public offering. The firm also said profit per equity partner (PEP) increased by 9%.[21]
In September 2018, DWF agreed to an exclusive association with US law firm Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP (WSHB), a Los Angeles headquartered full-service law firm with 22 offices across the US, 56 partners and 250 lawyers, and generated gross revenue of $81m in its last financial year.[22]
In January 2020, DWF acquired Mindcrest, a legal and managed services business, for $18.50 million.[23]
In July 2023, Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP agreed to acquire the company for £342 million.[24] The deal was completed in October 2023.[25]
