Bates Wells & Braithwaite Limited, Sudbury

What Bates Wells & Braithwaite Limited, Sudbury does

Bates Wells & Braithwaite Limited is a private limited UK law firm (Company Registration No. 08321040) operating from a single site in Sudbury, Suffolk, with lineage dating to 1800. The firm is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA591524) and holds Lexcel practice management accreditation, Resolution membership in family law, and Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation. It employs 26 staff across nine practice areas: Agriculture, Business Affairs, Commercial Property, Dispute Resolution, Employment Law, Family Law, Personal Injury, Residential Property, and Wills/Trusts/Probate.

The firm's offering spans individual client services (family law, personal injury, residential conveyancing, wills and probate), business client services (commercial property, employment law, business affairs, dispute resolution), and a niche agricultural client base served by a dedicated agriculture practice. Service delivery follows the conventional UK high-street model — primarily billable-hour and fixed-fee engagements — with no proprietary technology platform, document automation, or AI-enabled tools referenced in the available material.

The business is run as a regulated professional services partnership-style limited company, with nine named solicitors/managers leading practice areas. Recent activity is limited to a single associate-level hire in Residential Property and the maintenance of existing regulatory accreditations. There is no evidence of M&A, geographic expansion beyond Sudbury, new practice launches, or technology investment in the source material.

Name

Bates Wells & Braithwaite Limited, Sudbury

Legal name

Bates Wells & Braithwaite Limited

Website

https://bwblegal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1800

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bates Wells & Braithwaite Limited is a Sudbury, Suffolk-based UK law firm serving individuals, businesses, and agricultural clients across nine practice areas including family law, commercial property, and dispute resolution, operating from a single office with 26 staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Personal & Family Trust Services (FSAAANAA), Notary & Signing Agent Services (Remote/Onsite) (BPAJAOAF)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Solicitors firm
• Residential conveyancing
• Agricultural law
• Litigation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sudbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: Law firm generates revenue through billable hours, fixed fees, and potentially contingency fees for personal injury matters. Services include property transactions, litigation, family law, employment law, wills and probate, and business affairs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Bates Wells & Braithwaite is a traditional solicitors firm in Sudbury, Suffolk providing a full range of legal services spanning nine practice areas: agriculture, business affairs, commercial property, dispute resolution, employment law, family law, personal injury, residential property, and wills, trusts and probate. The firm serves individual clients (for conveyancing, family matters, wills, and personal injury claims) and business clients (for commercial property, company/commercial matters, employment law, and disputes), with specialist solicitors handling each area.

Product overview

Bates Wells & Braithwaite is a traditional law firm offering a unified portfolio of legal services rather than a software product. The firm provides nine distinct legal service areas spanning agriculture, business affairs, commercial property, dispute resolution, employment law, family law, personal injury, residential property, and wills/trusts/probate. The services are delivered by specialist solicitors including Tim Parsons (dispute resolution), Robert Sainsbury (property), Mark Heselden (litigation), Rebecca (family law), Hannah Lindsey Smith and Amy Hutchinson (residential conveyancing), and Glenn Blair and Emily Clark (probate). The firm has operated since the 1800s and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agriculture Legal Services Legal services for farmers and landowners covering property transactions, non-contentious property work (handled by Robert Sainsbury), and agricultural property disputes (handled by Tim Parsons).
• Business Affairs Comprehensive legal support for businesses at every stage from incorporation to sale, covering company and commercial matters (handled by Monika Sargeant).
• Commercial Property Services Legal assistance for business owners, start-ups, or purchasers with property transactions and related commercial property advice.
• Dispute Resolution Services Litigation services by solicitors Mark Heselden and Tim Parsons to identify, deal with, and resolve legal disputes with practical advice and an unconventional approach where needed.
• Employment Legal Services Employment law support for employers and employees, from initial instructions through to representation at the Employment Tribunal, including contractual drafting and advice.
• Family Legal Services Family law advice and representation in divorce, separation, financial matters, and child arrangements, including obtaining Court Orders (handled by Rebecca).
• Personal Injury Services Solicitors handling injury claims including road accidents, workplace injuries, slips and falls, medical negligence, and criminal injury, including 'No Win No Fee' arrangements.
• Residential Property Services Residential conveyancing services for buying and selling freehold and leasehold properties, remortgages, Deeds of Gift, Declarations of Trust, and Transfers of Equity (led by Hannah Lindsey Smith and Amy Hutchinson).
• Wills, Trusts & Probate Services Preparation of Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney, Trusts preparation, Grant of Probate, and Estate Administration (handled by Glenn Blair and Emily Clark).

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 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.

• Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)coreOthersThe firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. SRA591524). This regulatory relationship is mandatory for operating as a solicitors firm in England and Wales.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Fisher Jones Greenwood Solicitors: Essex-based full-service law firm with offices in Chelmsford, Colchester and other East Anglian locations. Highly comparable given geographic proximity to the Essex-Suffolk border served by Bates Wells, with overlapping service lines in conveyancing, family, employment and private client work.
• Prettys Solicitors: Ipswich-based established East Anglian solicitors firm providing a similar full-service mix of commercial, property, employment, family and private client services. Comparable in terms of regional positioning, practice breadth and target client segments across Suffolk and Essex.
• Roythornes Solicitors: East Midlands law firm widely recognised for its specialist agricultural and rural business practice. Directly comparable on Bates Wells' agriculture and rural specialism, with similar farmer and landowner client base and property/land transaction expertise, though operating in a different rural geography.
• Gotelee Solicitors: Long-established Suffolk solicitors firm with offices in Ipswich, Hadleigh and Woodbridge. Directly comparable as a regional full-service practice serving individuals, families, farmers and businesses in the same East Anglian market with overlapping practice areas including agriculture, property and private client.
• Birketts LLP: Larger East Anglian full-service law firm headquartered in Ipswich with offices across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge. Comparable as a regional multi-practice solicitors firm serving individuals and businesses with property, agriculture, family, employment and dispute resolution services — directly overlapping with Bates Wells' practice areas but at much greater scale.
• Ashtons Legal: East Anglian law firm headquartered in Bury St Edmunds with offices across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Directly comparable as a regional full-service solicitors practice with similar practice breadth in property, family, employment, dispute resolution and private client work for individuals and SMEs.
• Barker Gotelee Solicitors: Suffolk-based solicitors practice offering property, family, employment and private client services. Comparable as a small-to-mid regional firm serving individuals and businesses in the same East Anglian market with overlapping practice areas.
• Ellisons Solicitors: Suffolk-headquartered full-service law firm with offices in Ipswich, Felixstowe and Colchester. Directly comparable as a long-established regional solicitors practice offering property, family, commercial, employment and private client services to individuals and businesses in the same East Anglian geography.
• Hatch Brenner Solicitors: Norwich-based East Anglian law firm providing personal and business legal services. Comparable as a regional solicitors practice in the same East Anglian market with overlapping practice areas in conveyancing, family, wills/probate and commercial matters serving similar client segments.

Broad incumbents

• Mills & Reeve LLP: Large UK national law firm with a significant East Anglian presence and broad practice coverage including private client, family, agriculture and property work. Comparable in practice overlap but operates at substantially greater scale and geographic breadth as a full-service national incumbent.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bwblegal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Bates Wells & Braithwaite Limited, Sudbury