Alker Ball Healds Solicitors

What Alker Ball Healds Solicitors does

Alker Ball Healds Solicitors is a Wigan-based UK solicitors firm founded in 1852, historically operating as an independent high-street practice serving individuals and businesses across the Greater Manchester and North West England markets. Its standalone service portfolio spans conveyancing, employment law, personal injury (including No Win No Fee arrangements), family law, wills and probate, and general litigation. Following its April 2025 acquisition by Farleys Solicitors — itself a member of the Lawfront Group (parent: Lawfront Holdings Limited) — the firm now operates under the Farleys brand umbrella as 'Farleys Alker Ball Healds', retaining its Wigan office and leadership continuity through partners Gary Shepherd and Keith Whitehead.

The post-merger service catalogue is materially broader, encompassing abuse claims, claims against public authorities, criminal defence, medical negligence, motoring offences, professional negligence, personal insolvency, commercial litigation, commercial property, corporate law, corporate insolvency, debt recovery, employment law for businesses, environmental law, licensing, and twelve sector specialisms spanning Agriculture, Automotive, Digital/Creative, Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Renewable Energy, Retail, Sports, and Transport. Distribution runs through seven North West offices (Wigan, Blackburn, Burnley, Manchester, Preston, Rawtenstall) plus London, supplemented by direct phone lines and online enquiry routing.

The business model is professional services billing — hourly rates, fixed fees, and conditional fee arrangements — priced by quote per matter with no publicly disclosed fee schedule. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the firm is privately held as a limited liability partnership under the SRA's regulatory framework. The firm holds Lexcel accreditation (Law Society quality mark) and Cyber Essentials certification, and is independently ranked in Legal 500 (Top Tier 2026), Chambers UK (Top Ranked 2026), and The Lawyer UK 200 (2025). No proprietary technology platform, AI capability, or productised software offering is disclosed; operations rely on standard legal practice management and document systems.

Name

Alker Ball Healds Solicitors

Legal name

Alker Ball Healds Solicitors

Website

https://abhlaw.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1852

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Alker Ball Healds Solicitors is a 170-year-old Wigan-based UK law firm acquired by Farleys Solicitors in April 2025, now serving individuals and businesses across the North West through seven offices with a full-service personal and commercial legal practice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

Keywords

• Conveyancing legal services
• Personal injury claims
• Family law services
• Commercial litigation solicitors
• Employment law advice

Headquarters

HQ city

Wigan

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Professional legal services billed through hourly rates, fixed fees for specific transactions, and conditional fee arrangements where applicable for personal injury and other claims.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Alker Ball Healds Solicitors is a UK law firm that provides legal advisory and representation services across personal and business practice areas including conveyancing, family law, personal injury, employment law, medical negligence, wills and probate, commercial litigation, corporate law, and debt recovery. Following its April 2025 acquisition by Farleys Solicitors, the firm operates from its Wigan office as part of a seven-office North West England network.

Product overview

Alker Ball Healds Solicitors, now part of Farleys Solicitors, offers a comprehensive portfolio of legal services for individuals and businesses. The firm operates as a unified platform of legal practice areas rather than distinct software products. Services are organised into Personal Services (Abuse Claims, Claims Against Public Authorities, Crime, Employment, Family, Medical Negligence, Motoring Offences, Personal Injury, Personal Insolvency, Professional Negligence, Residential Property, Wills/Trusts/Probate) and Business Services (Commercial Litigation, Commercial Property, Corporate, Corporate Insolvency, Debt Recovery, Employment for businesses, Environmental Law, Fraud and Business Crime, Licensing). The firm also provides specialised sector expertise across Agriculture, Automotive, Digital and Creative, Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Renewable Energy, Retail, Sports, and Transport sectors. Following the April 2025 merger with Farleys, clients gain access to expanded specialist resources across the North West region while maintaining the personalised service established in 1852.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Abuse Claims Legal representation for victims of abuse across various settings including sports, hospitals, religious institutions, schools, and youth organisations, covering CICA abuse claims, child abuse claims, and revenge pornography cases.
• Claims Against Public Authorities Legal services for actions against police and claims following accidental disclosure of personal information by public authorities.
• Criminal Defence Criminal defence services including fraud defence, business crime, serious crime, and general criminal offences representation.
• Employment Law for Individuals Employment law services for employees covering disciplinary, appeals and dismissal, workplace discrimination, grievance procedures, employment tribunal representation, harassment and bullying, breach of contract, redundancies, and settlement agreements.
• Family Law Family law services including divorce, children matters, child arrangements, civil partnerships, high net worth divorce, marital agreements, and pre-nuptial agreements.
• Medical Negligence Medical negligence legal services covering A&E compensation, amputation claims, birth injuries, cosmetic surgery claims, delayed diagnosis, GP negligence, hospital claims, inquests, medication errors, misdiagnosis, sepsis and infection claims, and surgical accidents.
• Motoring and Driving Offences Motoring law representation for dangerous and careless driving, drink driving, mobile phone offences, speeding fines, and exceptional hardship cases.
• Personal Injury Personal injury claims services including accidents at work, criminal injuries claims, public liability claims, road traffic accidents, serious injury claims, and industrial disease compensation.
• Personal Insolvency and Bankruptcy Personal insolvency services including bankruptcy, debt advice, debt management, income payment agreements, individual voluntary arrangements, and statutory demands.
• Professional Negligence Professional negligence claims against solicitors, surveyors, accountants, financial advisors, architects, executors/trustees, and valuers.
• Residential Property Residential property services including conveyancing, buying and selling houses, auction property transactions, buy-to-let purchases, first time buyers, transfers of equity, leasehold properties, probate sales, right to buy, and remortgage conveyancing.
• Wills, Trusts and Probate Estate planning services including will writing, contentious probate, Court of Protection, probate administration, intestacy, lasting powers of attorney, professional deputyship, and trusts and estate planning.
• Commercial Litigation Business litigation services including arbitration, commercial property disputes, construction disputes, director and shareholders disputes, injunctions, and professional negligence claims for businesses.
• Commercial Property Commercial property legal services covering commercial leases, property sales and purchases, land acquisitions, development, SIPP and SSAS commercial property, and property finance.
• Corporate Law Corporate law services including business sales and purchases, company formation and startup, confidentiality agreements, corporate restructuring, directors duties, shareholders meetings, management buyouts, partnerships, and shareholders agreements.
• Corporate Insolvency Corporate insolvency services including administration, company moratorium, directors personal guarantees in insolvency, pre-pack administrations, public interest winding-up petitions, and winding-up petition injunctions.
• Debt Recovery Business debt recovery services including enforcing County Court Judgments in the High Court and comprehensive debt recovery guidance.
• Employment Law for Businesses Business employment services including contracts of employment, policies and procedures, disciplinaries, employee exits, employment tribunal representation, grievance procedures, HR management, redundancy, settlement agreements, and TUPE business transfers.
• Environmental Law Environmental law services covering asbestos claims, contaminated land, Environment Agency investigations, environmental permitting, health and safety investigations, and pollution claims.
• Fraud and Business Crime Business crime defence including corporate manslaughter, defence of company directors, health and safety matters, and trading standards investigations.
• Licensing Licensing services for premises licences, personal licences, buying licensed premises, licence reviews and prosecutions, and temporary events notices.
• Sector Specialisms Specialised legal services across multiple sectors including Agriculture, Automotive, Digital and Creative, Education, Family Business, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Engineering, Professional Services, Renewable Energy, Retail, Sports, and Transport and Haulage.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Farleys SolicitorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Alker Ball Healds joined forces with Farleys Solicitors in April 2025, bringing together two highly respected and established firms. The acquisition enables Alker Ball Healds to offer more comprehensive legal support while maintaining personal service. Gary Shepherd and Keith Whitehead remain at the helm to ensure continuity. The partnership provides access to broader legal services, greater resources, and specialist expertise across the North West.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hodge Jones & Allen: Mid-size UK law firm with comparable personal injury, medical negligence, family, and criminal defence practice mix serving individuals. Similar headcount scale to ABH's standalone profile and comparable regional consumer focus.
• Farleys Solicitors: Farleys is the parent firm and direct peer following the April 2025 acquisition. Operates the same North West office network and overlapping full-service legal practice (PI, family, commercial, conveyancing), making it the closest operational comparator for ABH.
• Irwin Mitchell: Large UK full-service law firm with comparable practice areas (personal injury, medical negligence, family, wills/probate, commercial). Listed in Legal 500 and Chambers; serves as a benchmark for top-tier directory recognition ABH also holds.
• Leigh Day: UK law firm with comparable PI, clinical negligence, and human-rights / abuse claims practice areas directly overlapping ABH's personal-service offering. Comparable mid-tier full-service positioning.
• Simpson Millar: National UK law firm focused on personal injury, family law, and consumer legal services with No Win No Fee models. Directly comparable practice mix and consumer-segment positioning to ABH.
• Slater and Gordon: National UK law firm with strong personal injury, family, and consumer-facing practice mix directly overlapping ABH's core services. Comparable model of No Win No Fee PI claims combined with broader consumer legal services.

Regional players

• Weightmans: North West-headquartered full-service UK law firm with overlapping commercial, insurance, and personal injury practices. Comparable geographic roots in the North West and similar Legal 500-ranked mid-market positioning.
• Forbes Solicitors: Lancashire-based regional law firm offering comparable full-service practice (commercial, PI, family, employment) within the same North West market as ABH. Similar size and regional mid-market positioning.
• Birchall Blackburn Law: North West regional law firm with overlapping conveyancing, PI, family, and commercial practice areas. Similar size and consumer/SMB target segments as ABH's Wigan office.

Broad incumbents

• Lawfront Group: UK legal-sector consolidator and ultimate parent of Farleys / ABH. Broader incumbent operating a multi-firm platform across the UK; relevant as the strategic acquirer and platform context for ABH's operating environment.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ABHlaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/FarleysSolicitorsLLP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/farleys-solicitors-llp

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alker Ball Healds Solicitors