What Knights does

Knights is a UK-based, AIM-listed legal and professional services firm operating under a corporate (non-partnership) structure through Knights Group Holdings plc and its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, Knights Professional Services Limited. The firm employs 1,400+ professionals across 32 UK offices, with its headquarters in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, and an explicit strategy to be the leading legal and professional services business outside London.

The firm delivers a full-service legal offering organised across 18+ expertise areas — including Banking, Corporate, Commercial, Real Estate, Employment, Dispute Resolution, Private Client, IP, Immigration, Restructuring & Insolvency, and Regulatory — and deep sector specialisations in Healthcare (including a dental M&A team), Technology/Media/Telecommunications, Financial & Professional Services, Agriculture, and Consumer/Retail. Knights has invested in pricing transparency, publishing fixed fees and hourly rate cards for several service lines (estate administration at £195-£650/hr; road traffic offences at £2,000-£7,000+VAT), which is differentiated behaviour for a UK law firm. It also operates the Knights Legal Network, a referral and support network for other solicitor firms, extending its distribution reach.

The firm serves 10,000+ business clients ranging from FTSE 250 corporates (45+ companies) to SMEs, plus high-net-worth individuals, and reports a Net Promoter Score of +64. The business model is a roll-up: Knights has acquired multiple law firms each year (five in FY22, three in FY23, two in FY24, two in FY25) and continues to add senior lateral partner hires and expand physical office presence. Revenue is generated through professional services fees across a horizontal segmentation approach, with no disclosed proprietary technology, AI/ML capabilities, or app-based product surface.

Name

Knights

Legal name

Knights Group Holdings plc

Website

https://knightsplc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1759

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Knights is an AIM-listed UK legal and professional services firm with 1,400+ professionals across 32 offices, serving 10,000+ business clients including 45+ FTSE 250 companies and high-net-worth individuals through a full-service, multi-practice-area offering and an active acquisition-led growth strategy.

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

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

Keywords

• Corporate legal services
• Commercial real estate law
• Private client services
• Dispute resolution
• Employment law

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle Under Lyme

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal and Professional Services Fees: Knights generates revenue through providing a full range of legal and professional services to corporate clients and high net worth individuals. Services include banking, business tax, commercial, competition, corporate, data protection, dispute resolution, employment, housing & regeneration, immigration, intellectual property, investigations, licensing & gambling, private client services, real estate, regulatory, residential property, and restructuring & insolvency.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Knights is a UK-based legal and professional services firm that delivers a full range of legal advice across corporate, commercial, real estate, employment, dispute resolution, regulatory, and private client practice areas from 32 offices throughout the UK. Services are billed on hourly rates, fixed fees, or a pay-as-you-go basis and are sold directly to corporate clients, SMEs and high net worth individuals, with additional inbound flow generated through the Knights Legal Network referral programme for other law firms.

Product overview

Knights is a UK-based legal and professional services firm operating under a corporate structure (unlike traditional law firm partnerships) with 32 offices nationwide. The firm provides a comprehensive portfolio of legal services organized by expertise areas (Banking, Corporate, Private Client, Real Estate, Dispute Resolution, Employment, and others) and sector specializations (Healthcare, Technology/Media/Telecommunications, Financial Services, Agriculture, and more). The product portfolio includes core legal service offerings across all major practice areas, sector-focused services, and the Knights Legal Network—a referral network for other law firms. The firm also provides price-transparent service offerings including residential property conveyancing, estate administration, immigration, employment, and road traffic offences defence, all with published fee structures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Knights Legal Network National referral and support network, created by solicitors for solicitors, that allows other UK law firms to access Knights' nationwide team of legal professionals. Member firms benefit from fee-share arrangements, training, networking, and regulatory support when referring matters to Knights.
• Banking Legal Services Legal services for banking sector clients covering financial transactions, regulatory compliance, and commercial lending matters.
• Business Tax Advisory Corporate tax advisory services including tax planning, compliance, and transaction-related tax matters.
• Commercial Legal Services Broad commercial legal services supporting business operations and transactions for clients including SMEs, corporates and multinationals.
• Competition Law Competition and antitrust legal advisory services for UK and cross-border competition matters.
• Corporate Legal Services Corporate legal services covering mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, corporate governance and related advisory for corporate clients.
• Data Protection Legal Services Privacy and data protection compliance advisory services under UK GDPR and related data protection law.
• Dispute Resolution Litigation and alternative dispute resolution services for civil and commercial disputes.
• Employment Law Employment legal services including workplace policies, HR compliance, employment tribunal representation and advice on the Employment Rights Act 2025.
• Housing & Regeneration Legal Services Legal services for housing developers and regeneration projects.
• Immigration Services Business and individual immigration law advice and visa applications, with published pricing transparency.
• Intellectual Property Legal Services Intellectual property protection services including patents, trademarks, copyrights and licensing.
• Investigations Corporate and regulatory investigation services for fraud, financial crime and related matters.
• Licensing & Gambling Legal Services Licensing advice for gambling, entertainment and hospitality sectors, with published pricing transparency.
• Private Client Services Comprehensive services for high net worth individuals covering wills, estates, trusts, family wealth planning, contentious probate, landed estates, international and cross-border matters, and professional discipline.
• Real Estate Legal Services Commercial real estate services covering development, asset management, planning, property litigation, construction, business parks, plot sales, retail, telecommunications and investment matters.
• Regulatory Legal Services Regulatory compliance advisory including fraud, financial crime, health & safety, environmental and inquests matters.
• Residential Property Conveyancing Residential property transaction services with published pricing transparency including fixed fees and disbursements.
• Restructuring & Insolvency Corporate restructuring, insolvency advisory and insolvency practitioner services.
• Estate Administration Full estate administration services for personal representatives including grant of probate applications, estate asset collection, liability settlement and distribution to beneficiaries. Billed on hourly rates by seniority plus disbursements such as probate application fee (£300), bankruptcy searches (£2+VAT per beneficiary), London Gazette advertisement (~£100+VAT) and local paper advertisements (£200-£600+VAT).
• Road Traffic Offences Defence Fixed-fee road traffic offence defence services including exceptional hardship arguments, speeding defences, and drink driving cases. Published fees: 12 penalty points/exceptional hardship £5,000-£7,000+VAT; discretionary disqualification £2,000+VAT; excess alcohol (90mg or less) £3,000+VAT; excess alcohol (more than 90mg) £4,000+VAT.

Quantifiable outcome

• Net Promoter Score of +64 indicating high client satisfaction
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Irwin Mitchell: Irwin Mitchell is a UK national full-service law firm serving corporate clients and individuals across similar practice areas (private client, real estate, dispute resolution, employment). Its scale and nationwide office model are highly comparable to Knights.
• Freeths: Freeths is a UK national law firm with multiple regional offices serving corporate and private clients. It directly competes with Knights across many practice areas and shares a similar mid-market, non-London positioning.
• Gateley: Gateley is a UK-listed national legal and professional services firm, the first UK law firm to IPO on AIM. It offers a directly comparable full-service legal platform with a similar corporate (non-partnership) structure and regional/national office footprint, making it the closest comparable to Knights.
• Weightmans: Weightmans is a UK national law firm focused on insurance, public sector, and commercial clients with a comparable regional office model and full-service offering. It competes with Knights in the UK mid-market legal space.
• Trowers & Hamlins: Trowers & Hamlins is a UK-headquartered international law firm serving corporate, real estate, and private client needs. Its full-service model and UK regional office strategy are comparable to Knights' positioning.
• Shakespeare Martineau: Shakespeare Martineau is a UK full-service law firm with strong regional presence in the Midlands, overlapping significantly with Knights' geographic heartland and practice areas including corporate, real estate, and private client.

Broad incumbents

• Mishcon de Reya: Mishcon de Reya is a London-based full-service law firm with strong private client and corporate practices. It is a broader incumbent whose high-end private client and corporate work overlaps with Knights' HNW and FTSE 250 client base.
• Clyde & Co: Clyde & Co is a global law firm headquartered in London with significant UK regional presence. It is a broader incumbent that competes with Knights in insurance, real estate, and commercial services.
• DWF: DWF is a large UK-headquartered global legal and business services firm listed on the LSE. It is a broader incumbent with international reach but competes with Knights in UK commercial legal services and the mid-market segment.

Regional players

• Burges Salmon: Burges Salmon is a UK full-service law firm headquartered in Bristol with deep regional roots. It competes with Knights in the South West and across multiple practice areas, though it is more concentrated geographically.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/knightsplc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Knights