HFT Gough and Co

What HFT Gough and Co does

HFT Gough & Co is a long-established traditional law firm operating from two offices in West Cumbria, England, with its headquarters at 38/42 Lowther Street, Whitehaven and a branch at 15 New Oxford Street, Workington. The firm provides a full-service legal practice spanning family law (divorce, children, childcare, mediation), residential and commercial conveyancing, wills, probate, trusts, lasting powers of attorney, commercial dispute resolution, debt recovery, employment law, personal injury, and town planning. It is structured under HFT Gough & Co Limited (Company Number 07535271), authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (No: 557484), and holds Lexcel Practice Management Standard, Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), Cyber Essentials, and Law Society Children Law Panel accreditations. Two of its solicitors, Elizabeth Sandelands and Michelle Holliday, sit on the Children Law Accreditation Panel.

The firm employs approximately 57 people and is led by a Director team spanning family law, commercial property, dispute resolution, and non-contentious/private client work. Revenue is generated primarily through hourly billing at tiered rates (£135 for trainees/paralegals up to £220 for 8+ year qualified solicitors), supplemented by fixed-fee services such as Wills (£300 single / £400 mirror) and Certainty Will Registration (£10), No Win No Fee arrangements for personal injury claims, and Legal Aid Agency funded family/childcare work. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the two physical offices, supplemented by video, telephone, and home/hospital visits; over 80% of clients are repeat or referral-sourced, and the firm maintains a website, Facebook, and Twitter presence alongside community engagement.

The technology base is standard practice management software for case management, document storage, and client accounting, with no proprietary platforms, AI tools, or external API integrations. Service delivery is people-intensive and reliant on the firm's regulatory accreditations, multi-decade local brand, and unusually high staff retention (some employees with over 40 years' service) as the core operating assets.

Name

HFT Gough and Co

Legal name

HFT Gough & Co Limited

Website

https://goughs-solicitors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HFT Gough & Co is a traditional full-service West Cumbrian law firm of approximately 57 staff, operating from Whitehaven and Workington offices and serving individuals, local businesses, and public bodies with family law, conveyancing, wills/probate, commercial, and dispute resolution services under SRA regulation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Whitehaven

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Hourly Billing: Primary revenue stream from billable hours. Fees calculated by time spent including document preparation, interviews, correspondence, and telephone calls. Hourly rates vary by qualification level from £135 for paralegals to £220 for senior solicitors with 8+ years experience.
2. Fixed Fee Services: Fixed fee arrangements for specific services including Wills (Single Will £300 + VAT, Mirror Wills £400 + VAT), initial consultations, and specific transactions. Used extensively for family work with payments in advance and regular payments.
3. No Win No Fee / Conditional Fee Agreements: Personal injury claims conducted under No Win No Fee / Conditional Fee Agreements for eligible clients.
4. Legal Aid: Legal Aid Agency funded work for eligible clients, particularly in family and childcare matters where automatic eligibility applies in most care cases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

HFT Gough and Co is a traditional Solicitors' firm based in West Cumbria, operating from offices in Whitehaven and Workington. The firm provides a broad range of legal services to both private individuals and businesses/organisations, spanning family law, conveyancing, commercial property, wills and probate, personal injury, civil disputes, and employment matters. With approximately 57 staff, it serves local clients across Cumbria and the wider region through in-person appointments and remote consultations.

Product overview

HFT Gough & Co is a traditional law firm operating as a single unified legal practice (not a software/platform product). The firm provides a comprehensive range of legal services through distinct practice area modules: Commercial services (Commercial Property, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Business Employment Law, Debt Recovery, Landlords and Tenants), Family services (Children, Childcare, Cohabitation, Divorce/Separation, Mediation), Property services (Residential Conveyancing, Leases), and Private Client services (Wills, Trusts, Court of Protection, Probate, Lasting Power of Attorney). Additional specialist services include Civil Disputes, Inheritance Disputes, Personal Injury, Individual Employment Law, Estate Administration, Planning, and Training. The services operate as separate departmental offerings rather than an integrated software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Family Law Legal advice and representation for divorce, separation, children matters, domestic abuse and related family issues, delivered to private clients across West Cumbria.
• Residential Conveyancing Legal support for buying, selling and remortgaging residential property, delivered under the firm's CQS accreditation for individuals and home movers.
• Commercial Property Legal services covering commercial property acquisitions, leases, sales and related matters for businesses, landlords and investors.
• Wills and Probate Preparation of wills, trusts, lasting powers of attorney and administration of estates for private clients.
• Personal Injury Claims handling for individuals injured through accidents or negligence, offered on a No Win No Fee basis where appropriate.
• Civil Disputes and Litigation Advice and representation in civil disputes, including contract disputes, debt recovery and other contentious matters for individuals and businesses.
• Employment Law Legal advice for employers and employees on workplace issues, contracts, dismissals and tribunal representation.
• Legal Aid Services Publicly funded legal representation in qualifying matters, including family and children law, under the firm's Legal Aid contract.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80% of clients are repeat clients or recommendations from existing clients
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• David Allen Solicitors:
• Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors: Cumbria-headquartered law firm with offices across the county, providing similar full-service legal offerings including family, property, private client, and commercial services to clients across West Cumbria, directly competing for the same client base.
• Thomson Hayton Winkley: Established Cumbria law firm offering comparable services in conveyancing, family law, wills and probate, and commercial matters to individuals and businesses across West Cumbria with overlapping practice area coverage.
• Burnetts Solicitors: Regional law firm headquartered in Carlisle serving Cumbria and North West England across similar practice areas including family law, commercial property, dispute resolution, and private client services, making them the closest direct competitor in the same Cumbria geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hftgoughsolicitors

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 HFT Gough and Co