Insurance-focused legal firm HF has taken on around 40 members of the Rosling King LLP team following the administration of the London-based firm, securing the employment of all staff in the process.
The deal was completed on Tuesday, the same day that insolvency practitioners Kirstie Provan and Mark Fry of Begbies Traynor Group were appointed joint administrators of Rosling King LLP. According to HF, the transaction was completed immediately following the administrators’ appointment.
The incoming team will be based in London and will add expertise in dispute resolution, insolvency, and real estate to HF’s existing commercial practice areas.
Ronan McCann, chief executive and managing partner of HF, said the acquisition was a welcome addition to the firm.
“Georgina and the team at Rosling King are very highly regarded in their field, and we’re pleased and excited to have them join us,” he said. “Within HF, they will provide the same excellent standard of service, backed by HF’s scale, innovation, and technology.”
Georgina Squire, senior partner of Rosling King, said the move marked a positive step forward.
“We are thrilled to be joining HF and to be part of their ongoing success,” she said. “We’re looking forward to being able to focus on providing outstanding service to our clients as part of a successful and growing business.”
HF said the deal also provided continuity for Rosling King’s clients, who will continue to be served by the same legal team.
Prior to the deal, Rosling King had cited significant and unmanageable creditor pressure as the reason for filing its notice of intention to appoint administrators, according to reporting by the Law Gazette. The firm said at the time that it was owed significant sums in unpaid fees, and that negotiations were advanced to complete a transaction that would protect all employees and client matters.
The firm had also reached a settlement in March over professional negligence claims brought by property developer Tonstate Group, which alleged that Rosling King had failed to provide strategic costs advice and conduct regular costs reviews during a litigation it handled between 2017 and 2019. Rosling King had previously contested all the allegations.
