What Holmes & Hills does

Holmes & Hills LLP is a private regional law firm headquartered at the A12 Commercial Hub in Marks Tey, Colchester, England, operating through seven offices across Essex and Suffolk in East Anglia. The firm provides full-service legal advice to commercial businesses (particularly SMEs in commercial property, corporate transactions, employment law, planning, and litigation), individuals and families (family law, residential conveyancing, wills and probate, personal injury), local authorities (planning law and CPO/DCO representation), property developers, housing associations, and construction firms. Its core offering comprises 12 named service areas, with personal injury work operated through a dedicated sub-brand called Blackwater Law. The firm employs over 200 legal professionals, services approximately 6,800 clients per year, and advises on more than £1.75bn of client assets annually. Holmes & Hills is independently recognised by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners across multiple practice areas, holds Lexcel accreditation, and operates a Specialist Compulsory Purchase & Development Consent Division handling nationally significant infrastructure projects including the A12 widening, Lower Thames Crossing, Heathrow and Luton airport expansions, and the Norwich to Tilbury pylon scheme.

The firm's revenue model is built on hourly-rate billing for most advisory and contentious work, supplemented by fixed-fee pricing for residential conveyancing and initial family law consultations, no win no fee arrangements for personal injury claims (under Blackwater Law), and outcome-based fee arrangements. Distribution is delivered through physical offices, remote consultations via Microsoft Teams, online quotation requests, and a professional referral network comprising estate agents, mortgage brokers, housing associations, and other solicitors. The firm operates no proprietary technology platforms; its technology footprint is described as standard legal practice tooling, with no API, SDK, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed in the input data.

Holmes & Hills LLP is structured as a limited liability partnership authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Number: 534489), GDPR-compliant as a Data Controller, and partner-owned with no disclosed parent company, subsidiaries, external funding rounds, or M&A activity. The firm does not publish revenue figures.

Name

Holmes & Hills

Legal name

Holmes & Hills LLP

Website

https://holmes-hills.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Holmes & Hills LLP is a privately-held regional law firm operating through seven offices across Essex and Suffolk in East Anglia, providing full-service legal advice to SMEs, individuals and families, local authorities, property developers, and housing associations, with over 200 legal professionals serving approximately 6,800 clients each year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411), Other Legal Services (54119)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate & Probate Administration Services (FSAEAKAD), Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE), Litigation & Dispute Valuation (damages, shareholder disputes) (FSAEAHAI)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Residential conveyancing
• Commercial property law
• Planning law advice
• Employment law advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Colchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 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 - Professional Fees: Hourly rate billing for most legal services with quarterly billing cycles (January, April, July, October). Fixed fees offered for specific services including residential conveyancing and initial family law consultations. Interest charged on unpaid bills at 4% above Barclays Bank base lending rate after 28 days.
2. Personal Injury - No Win No Fee: Personal injury and clinical negligence claims accepted on no win, no fee basis. Free initial legal advice provided.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Holmes & Hills LLP is a regional law firm operating from seven offices across Essex and Suffolk in East Anglia, providing full-service legal advice to commercial clients, individuals, families, and local authorities. Practice areas include Commercial Property, Corporate and Commercial, Development and Land, Employment Law, Family and Relationships, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence (trading as Blackwater Law), Planning Law, Probate and Estate Administration, Residential Property (Conveyancing), Shared Ownership, and Wills, Powers and Trusts. Services are delivered by 200+ legal professionals, billed via hourly rates, fixed fees, or no-win-no-fee arrangements.

Product overview

Holmes & Hills is a large regional law firm operating as a full-service legal practice across East Anglia with seven offices in Essex and Suffolk. The firm provides specialist legal services organized into distinct departments: Commercial Property, Corporate and Commercial, Development and Land, Employment Law, Family and Relationships, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence (operating under the Blackwater Law brand), Planning Law, Probate and Estate Administration, Residential Property (Conveyancing), Shared Ownership Solicitors, and Wills, Powers & Trusts. The firm also serves specific sectors including Compulsory Purchase Order, Construction, Hospitality and Leisure, Property Development, and Social Housing. Services are delivered by over 200 legal professionals to businesses, individuals, families, and local authorities across the region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Property Legal advice for commercial property owners and occupiers covering acquisition, disposal, leasing, financing, and disputes.
• Corporate and Commercial
• Development and Land
• Employment Law
• Family and Relationships
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence
• Planning Law
• Probate and Estate Administration
• Residential Property (Conveyancing)
• Shared Ownership Solicitors
• Wills, Powers and Trusts
• Blackwater Law

Quantifiable outcome

• 22% higher residential property transaction completion rate than national average of 70.3%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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.

• Housing Associations (multiple)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHolmes & Hills acts with and alongside multiple housing associations across a high volume of shared ownership transactions in England and Wales. The firm has established working relationships enabling smoother communication and fewer delays during shared ownership transactions.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gotelee Solicitors: Suffolk-based regional law firm offering comparable services including commercial property, family law, planning, and private client. Geographic overlap in Suffolk with Holmes & Hills.
• Ellisons Solicitors: Regional law firm with offices across Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, offering a similar full-service legal practice including commercial property, corporate, and family law. Direct geographic competitor in the Essex/Suffolk market.
• Ashtons Legal: East Anglia-based regional law firm with offices in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge, providing comparable services in commercial property, family law, planning, and dispute resolution. Closely aligned East Anglia competitor with similar regional scale.
• Birketts LLP: Large regional law firm headquartered in Norwich with offices across East Anglia, offering similar full-service legal practice areas including commercial property, planning, family, and private client services. Most directly comparable UK regional competitor in East Anglia.
• Birkett Long LLP: Essex-based regional law firm with offices in Colchester, Chelmsford, and Basildon, providing similar services including commercial property, family law, and dispute resolution. Direct competitor in the same Essex market.
• Buckles Solicitors: East Anglia-based regional law firm with offices in Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, and other locations, offering similar full-service legal expertise. Comparable regional competitor in East Anglia.
• Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP: Essex and London-based regional law firm offering commercial, residential property, and family law services. Direct competitor in the Essex market with similar mid-market client focus.
• Tees Law: East Anglia and Hertfordshire-based regional law firm with similar full-service offering spanning commercial, residential property, family, and private client services. Comparable scale and regional focus to Holmes & Hills.
• Mundays LLP: Surrey-based regional law firm offering comparable full-service practice including commercial property, corporate, family, and dispute resolution. Comparable size and structure to Holmes & Hills as a multi-office regional full-service firm.

Broad incumbents

• Co-op Legal Services: National legal services provider offering will-writing, probate, and family law services at scale. Competes with H&H's private client and family law practice lines particularly in commoditized services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HolmesandHills
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holmes-&-hills

Compliance4 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 Holmes & Hills