City law firm Mishcon de Reya has put plans to float on the London stock market on hold “for the foreseeable future”, halting preparations for a listing that could have made it the UK’s most valuable publicly traded law firm.
The group said it had postponed the listing because of poor market conditions, marking the latest of several delays.
It told partners last week that plans to pursue the initial public offering had been stalled but that a future listing was not off the agenda completely, according to insiders.
The firm said: “We can confirm that we have decided to put our IPO plans on hold for the foreseeable future due to market conditions. We remain an ambitious and bold business with a clear strategy and vision for our future.”
A potential listing had been mooted by the law firm since at least 2019.
Mishcon said it had appointed JPMorgan to explore a possible listing in April 2021 and officially kicked off the IPO process in September last year, following a partner vote. Despite winning approval from partners to pursue the plan, it continued to push out its timeline based on market turbulence and poor investor appetite for investing in IPOs in general.
In January Mishcon was fined £232,500 for breaches of anti-money laundering rules, as it was preparing to head out on an investor roadshow.
Mishcon was aiming for a valuation upwards of £750mn, according to people close to the process, which would have made it the most valuable publicly listed law firm in the UK and worth about twice as much as its closest rival, DWF.
DWF’s share price is trading 16 per cent below its IPO price in 2019, despite a rebound following a leadership reshuffle in 2020.
Meanwhile shares in smaller rival Gateley have more than doubled since its IPO in 2015.
The latest delay to Mishcon’s plans was first reported by the Telegraph.
The firm has carved out a reputation as a pugnacious City outfit with a strong background in litigation and defamation law. Mishcon represented Diana, Princess of Wales in her 1996 divorce and acted on the UK Supreme Court challenge to the government’s decision to prorogue parliament in 2019.
Mishcon was hoping to modernise its business by floating, and invest in acquisitions in areas such as legal services and technology. The deal would also have been profitable for senior lawyers, who would own potentially valuable equity stakes.
