Ufenau Capital Partners secures financing to support its partnership with Express Solicitors

Rothschild & Co’s mid-market Debt Advisory team has advised Ufenau Capital Partners AG (“Ufenau”) on their acquisition of Express Solicitors (“Express”), in which facilities were secured from BZ to fund the transaction and support Express’ future Buy-&-Build strategy. 

Express is a UK-based Top 100 law firm, specialising in claimant representation for personal injury cases, offering an integrated service proposition to clients including legal advisory, medical reporting and after-the-event insurance.

Express was founded in 2000, and today employs over 800 staff across three locations, including c.500 qualified solicitors and barristers. Since its establishment, it has helped tens of thousands of claimants’ secure compensation for personal injuries. Express is led by a highly experienced and ambitious management team with a strong track record of organic and M&A-led growth. Ufenau will work in close collaboration with the existing management team to support growth via a targeted Buy-&-Build strategy, continuing to capitalise on the market consolidation opportunity within the UK’s highly fragmented legal services market.

Ufenau is a privately-owned Swiss Investor Group headquartered at lake Zurich which advises private and institutional investors with their investments in private equity. Ufenau is focused on investments in service companies in German-speaking Europe, Iberia, Poland, the Benelux region, and the UK and invests in Business Services, IT-Services, Education & Lifestyle, Healthcare Services, and Financial Services sectors. Since 2011, Ufenau invested in >460 service companies in Europe. Through a renowned group of experienced Industry Partners (owners, CEOs, CFOs), Ufenau has an active value-adding investment approach at eye-level with entrepreneurs and managers. Ufenau advises capital of EUR >5.0bn.

James Maxey, CEO of Express, said: “This is a milestone transaction for Express Solicitors. Having just celebrated our 25th anniversary, 65 internal promotions and the successful acquisitions of HNK Solicitors and Graham Coffeys & Co Solicitors, our partnership with Ufenau, who exclusively support Buy-&-Build strategies of high growth service companies, will provide the strategic and financial firepower to support the continued development of Express Solicitors whilst delivering best in class services to injured people.”

Ralf Flore, Managing Partner at Ufenau, added: “We are really excited to partner with James and the team at Express Solicitors, not only does this mark Ufenau’s first platform investment in the UK market since we opened the office in 2024, it serves as a strong platform to execute our systematic Buy-&-Build approach, whilst building on our expertise in the highly fragmented sector of professional legal services.”

Peter Eckersley, Investment Director & Head of UK at Ufenau, commented: “We were highly impressed with the Rothschild & Co team’s work in helping the business secure a flexible financing facility, which will support the initial acquisition and our future growth ambitions. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Neil Smith, Managing Director at Rothschild & Co, Arrowpoint Advisory, highlighted: “We are proud to have supported Ufenau on their first UK platform investment. The flexible financing package secured from BZ not only facilitates this transaction but also positions the Group for continued growth and will support the ongoing Buy-&-Build strategy. This transaction underscores our continued commitment to delivering high-quality financing solutions.”

Randal Pringle, Director at Rothschild & Co, Arrowpoint Advisory, concluded: “It was a pleasure to work with Ufenau to secure the financing for their first UK investment. We were delighted to deliver a flexible debt package on competitive terms to support the initial acquisition and ongoing Buy-&-Build strategy. We look forward to seeing Express continue to thrive over the coming years in its partnership with Ufenau.”

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