Butcher & Barlow

What Butcher & Barlow does

Butcher & Barlow LLP is a full-service UK law firm (Limited Liability Partnership) headquartered in Bury, Lancashire, founded in 1887 by John Woodward Barlow and Samuel Foster Butcher. The firm operates across two main service divisions: Commercial Services (Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Commercial Property, Corporate & Commercial, Charities, Employment Law & HR, Notarial Services, and Property Dispute Resolution) and Personal Services (Family Law, Contentious Probate, Employment Law for Employees, Medical Negligence, Personal Injury, Personal Dispute Resolution, Powers of Attorney & Court of Protection, Residential Property, and Wills, Trusts and Estates). It serves individuals, SMEs, agricultural clients, charities, and property investors across North West England through 12 office locations spanning Lancashire, Cheshire, and North Staffordshire, supported by more than 180 staff.

The firm's revenue model is professional services fee-based, combining hourly billing, fixed fees for a publicly disclosed subset of services (probate, house sales/purchases, mortgages, debt recovery, employment disputes, notary services), and quote-based fees for complex commercial and corporate matters. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, with a partner-led service model delivered through face-to-face office consultations, telephone, and video. Marketing channels span LinkedIn, Facebook, SEO, a legal insights blog, community engagement at agricultural shows (Leek & District, Nantwich), and a strong peer-review presence (721 reviews, 4.8/5 on ReviewSolicitors). Named enterprise and SME clients include Brand Vista Limited, Eleven (recruitment), Quadriga Limited, and various property and agricultural counterparties, alongside a long tail of individual clients.

The technology stack is described as "standard legal practice management and document handling systems typical of UK law firms," with no proprietary technology, no AI/ML capabilities, no API, no app, and no disclosed integrations. Key credentials include Legal 500 Top Tier rankings for Agriculture & Rural Affairs (2025, 2026) and firm-level recognition across multiple practice areas (2024–2026), plus Law Society accreditations in Conveyancing Quality Scheme, Family Law Advanced, Family Law, Clinical Negligence, and Children Law.

Name

Butcher & Barlow

Legal name

Butcher and Barlow LLP

Website

https://butcher-barlow.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1887

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Butcher & Barlow LLP is a Bury-based full-service UK law firm founded in 1887, with 12 offices and 180+ staff providing commercial and personal legal services to individuals, SMEs, agricultural clients, and charities across North West England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Legal services
• Commercial law
• Residential property
• Agricultural law
• Estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Bury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Professional legal services billed primarily through hourly fees, fixed fees for specific services (probate, house sales/purchases, debt recovery, employment disputes, notary services), and transaction-based fees for commercial matters. Revenue generated from both personal legal services (residential property, family law, wills, personal injury, medical negligence) and commercial legal services (corporate, commercial property, agriculture, employment, dispute resolution).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Butcher & Barlow LLP is a full-service UK law firm (solicitors) delivering legal services to both commercial businesses and private individuals across the North West of England through 17 distinct practice areas. Services span commercial work (agriculture, corporate/commercial, commercial property, employment, dispute resolution, charities, notarial) and personal work (residential conveyancing, family law, wills/estates, personal injury, medical negligence, contentious probate, powers of attorney). The firm operates from 12 offices with 180+ staff and holds Legal 500 Top Tier rankings, particularly in Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Product overview

Butcher & Barlow LLP is a full-service UK law firm (solicitors) providing comprehensive legal services to both commercial businesses and private individuals across the North West of England. The firm operates a platform of 17 distinct legal service areas organized under two main divisions: Commercial Services (Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Commercial Property, Corporate & Commercial, Charities, Employment Law & HR, Notarial Services, and Property Dispute Resolution) and Personal Services (Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Contentious Probate, Employment Law for Employees, Family Law, Medical Negligence, Personal Dispute Resolution, Personal Injury, Powers of Attorney & Court of Protection, Residential Property, and Wills, Trusts and Estates). The firm also offers pricing services for Probate, House Sales, House Purchases, Mortgages, Debt Recovery, Employment Disputes, and Notary services. With 12 offices across the North West and over 180 team members, the firm provides Legal 500-ranked expertise with a focus on long-term client relationships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agriculture & Rural Affairs (Commercial)

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.8/5 rating from 721 independently verified reviews on ReviewSolicitors (95% value for money, 97% satisfaction, 97% would recommend)

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 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.

• Heyman & CocoreOthers · 1 October 2025Heyman & Co merged with Butcher & Barlow effective October 1st. All current members of the Heyman & Co Team remain with the firm ensuring continuity for all clients. The Heyman & Co office on Church Street is now known as 'Butcher & Barlow incorporating Heyman & Co', with the existing Butcher & Barlow office on Railway Road remaining operational.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Knights plc: Listed UK regional law firm consolidator that has acquired multiple regional practices, providing a comparable full-service platform model but at materially larger scale and with institutional capital.
• DWF Group plc: Large global full-service law firm with significant North West operations and insurance-led commercial services; comparable in service breadth but materially larger and formerly listed.

Direct peers

• Aaron & Partners LLP: Cheshire-based full-service law firm of comparable size with strong overlap in commercial property, corporate, agricultural, and private client work across the same North West catchment.
• Fletchers Solicitors: North West England-based law firm of comparable scale with strong personal injury and clinical negligence practices alongside broader services; operates in similar regional catchment with similar client base.
• Hill Dickinson LLP: Liverpool-headquartered full-service UK law firm with strong North West presence, comparable headcount, and similar commercial-services orientation including insurance, commercial property, and corporate work.
• Brabners LLP: North West England-headquartered full-service law firm of comparable size with similar commercial and personal services mix and strong regional brand. Directly comparable in geography, scale, and service breadth.
• Weightmans LLP: Liverpool-headquartered full-service UK law firm with comparable headcount and similar regional North West / national footprint, serving insurance, public sector, and commercial clients.
• SAS Daniels LLP: Cheshire-headquartered full-service regional law firm of similar size, with comparable commercial and personal services mix serving North West SMEs and private clients.

Regional players

• Hodge Jones & Allen: UK regional full-service law firm with comparable personal services (family, wills/probate, personal injury) and commercial practice, though operating in a different geographic catchment (London/Wales).

Emerging players

• Horwich Farrelly: North West England-headquartered insurance defendant law firm with overlapping commercial services (commercial property, corporate) and similar regional talent base, though focused more narrowly on insurer clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ButcherBarlowLLP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/butcher-&-barlow-solicitors-and-notaries
• Xx.com/ButcherBarlow

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Butcher & Barlow