Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors

What Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors does

Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors is a traditional UK law firm founded in 1893 in Ripley, Derbyshire, and operating today as Ellis-Fermor & Negus Limited, a private limited company authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (Reg. No. 567496). The firm employs between 51 and 100 people across five offices in the East Midlands (Beeston, Long Eaton, Ripley, Belper, and West Bridgford) and serves individuals, businesses, and charities. Its practice is organised into three areas: Personal Legal Services (family law, residential conveyancing, accident claims, dispute resolution, employment, and wills/trusts/probate); Commercial Legal Services (business advice, commercial property, corporate employment, debt collection, dispute resolution, M&A, and planning law); and Charity Services (formation, governance, property, employment, trustee training, and clerk services).

The firm operates on a professional services revenue model, charging clients hourly rates and fixed fees for legal work, supplemented by a transactional online bill payment facility (up to £5,000 per transaction via WorldPay and Barclaycard, both PCI DSS compliant). Its go-to-market is sales-led and built on community presence, word-of-mouth referrals, and client feedback questionnaires, with marketing channels limited to a content website, LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, and local events such as the firm's annual Summer Dinner and Charity of the Year scheme. The technology stack is conventional for a regional solicitors firm: standard practice management with third-party integrations including Hoowla for online conveyancing quoting, Infotrack for client due diligence, and Google Analytics for web measurement. The firm holds Lexcel practice management accreditation, Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation, Resolution membership for family lawyers, APIL membership for personal injury practitioners, and Disability Confident Employer status.

The business is independently operated with no disclosed parent company, venture capital, or private equity backing, and is governed by a board of directors including Simon Hale, Robert Meredith, Murray Macnab, and Darren Kelly, with department heads in family law, commercial property, and wills and probate. Strategic activity over the past decade has been organic and acquisitive at a modest scale: the firm absorbed Chambers & Hind in 2012, opened the Belper office in 2011, and added the West Bridgford office in 2024, reflecting a steady regional roll-up strategy.

Name

Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors

Legal name

Ellis-Fermor & Negus Limited

Website

https://ellis-fermor.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1893

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Ellis-Fermor & Negus is a traditional UK solicitors firm founded in 1893, operating five East Midlands offices and serving individuals, businesses, and charities with family law, property, dispute resolution, wills and probate, and charity legal services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK), Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE), Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Conveyancing services
• Family law
• Commercial property law
• Charity law

Headquarters

HQ city

Ripley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Traditional law firm billing model based on hourly rates and fixed fees for legal services provided to individuals, businesses, and charities. Services include family law, residential and commercial property, wills and probate, dispute resolution, and employment law.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors is a traditional UK law firm providing legal services across three practice areas: Personal Matters (accident claims, dispute resolution, family law, residential property, employment law, wills/trusts/probate), Commercial Services (business advice, commercial property, corporate employment, debt collection, dispute resolution, mergers and acquisitions, planning law), and Charity Services (formation, governance, property, employment, trustee training, clerk services). The firm operates across five East Midlands offices with bill payment and conveyancing quote tools available online.

Product overview

Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors is a traditional law firm offering a unified suite of legal services across three main practice areas: Personal Legal Services (accident claims, family law, residential property, employment, wills and probate), Commercial Legal Services (business advice, commercial property, corporate employment, debt collection, mergers and acquisitions, planning law), and Charity Legal Services (formation, governance, property, employment, trustee training). The firm also provides digital tools including an online conveyancing quote calculator and online payment facility. Founded in 1893, the firm operates across five offices in the East Midlands region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Legal Services Legal services for individuals covering accident claims, dispute resolution, family law (divorce, separation, financial settlements, children issues), residential property conveyancing, employment law, and wills, trusts and probate.
• Commercial Legal Services Business-focused legal services including business advice (intellectual property, succession planning, starting a business), commercial property, corporate employment, debt collection, dispute resolution, mergers and acquisitions, and planning law.
• Charity Legal Services Specialist legal services for charities including charity formation, governance, property matters, clerk services, employment issues, trustee training, and Christian community legal support.
• Residential Conveyancing Property purchase and sale services including moving home, new build purchases, remortgaging, property transfers, and Help to Buy schemes.
• Family Law Family legal services covering divorce, separation, financial settlements, children issues, civil partnership dissolution, collaborative law, cohabitation agreements, prenuptial agreements, and deed poll name changes.
• Wills, Trusts and Probate Estate planning and administration services including wills, lasting powers of attorney, trusts, estate administration, care home fees planning, and inheritance tax advice.
• Commercial Property Law Commercial real estate legal services including property transactions, landlord and tenant matters, lease grants and renewals, licenses, strategic land and planning contracts, and commercial financing.
• Dispute Resolution Litigation and alternative dispute resolution services for both personal and commercial matters including contentious probate and commercial landlord-tenant disputes.
• Business Advisory Corporate advisory services covering intellectual property protection, business succession planning, and startup guidance.
• Personal Injury / Accident Claims Personal injury legal services for individuals seeking compensation for accident-related injuries, with team members holding APIL membership.
• Employment Law Employment law services for both individuals and businesses, including settlement agreements and corporate employment matters.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Co-op Legal Services: Alternative Business Structure (ABS) legal services provider offering online wills, probate, and family law at fixed fees. Comparable as a competitor in the firm's high-volume consumer practice areas, particularly wills and probate, but differentiated by national digital-first delivery model.

Direct peers

• Geldards LLP: East Midlands law firm with offices in Derby, Nottingham, and Leicester. Comparable as a Derby-based regional firm with overlapping services in commercial property, family law, dispute resolution, and private client.
• Nelsons Solicitors: East Midlands law firm headquartered in Nottingham with offices across the region. Directly comparable as a regional multi-practice firm serving individuals and businesses with family law, property, wills/probate, and commercial services.
• Shakespeare Martineau LLP: Midlands-based full-service law firm with offices in Nottingham, Birmingham, and Leicester. Comparable as a multi-office regional practice offering personal, commercial, and private wealth services to a similar client base in the East/West Midlands.
• Freeths LLP: East Midlands-rooted full-service UK law firm with offices across the Midlands and nationally. Directly comparable as a long-established regional practice serving individuals, businesses, and charities across overlapping practice areas including family, commercial property, and private client.
• Roythornes Solicitors: East Midlands law firm with offices in Nottingham, Birmingham, and Alconbury. Comparable as a regional full-service practice with similar specialisms in agriculture, commercial property, and private client.
• Browne Jacobson LLP: Nottingham-headquartered UK law firm with a similar mix of personal, commercial, and public/charity sector clients. Comparable scale and East Midlands footprint, with overlapping specialisms in employment, property, and private client.

Broad incumbents

• Knights plc: National UK law firm listed on AIM with regional offices across the Midlands and beyond. Comparable full-service offering (residential, commercial, private client) but operates as a publicly listed consolidator competing for the same regional SMB and consumer clients.
• Irwin Mitchell Solicitors: National UK law firm with a significant Midlands presence through offices in Nottingham and Birmingham. Comparable practice mix (personal injury, family, wills/probate, commercial) but operating at substantially larger scale across multiple regions.
• Weightmans LLP: National UK law firm with offices across England and Wales, including a Midlands presence. Comparable across insurance, commercial property, and dispute resolution, though typically serving larger institutional clients rather than individuals and small charities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EllisFermorandNegus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ellis-fermor-&-negus-solicitors
• Xx.com/ellisfermor

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors