Within four months of taking a majority stake in corporate boutique Atticus Legal and launching the Beyond Corporate brand, Beyond Professional Services Group confirms its second investment; McAlister Family Law.
The Beyond Group was established to challenge the structures and approaches adopted by traditional law. Committed to doing things genuinely differently, the Group has backed a management team led by Amanda McAlister, Slater and Gordon’s former Head of National Family Practice, having recruited a number of Slater and Gordon’s team in the run up to completing the acquisition and investment.
The Beyond Group, lead by former managing partner of Fieldfishers’ Manchester business, Matthew Fleetwood, takes a majority stake in the business and has made available equity for the new management team.
On establishing McAlister Family Law and becoming part of the Beyond Group, Amanda McAlister says: “Having worked in a large national practice for five years, I wanted my next venture to be something unique, something different. I was looking for an opportunity that not only supported the client base that we service but also one that would provide a platform to build a dynamic team.
“Whilst there is undoubtedly a market for large, national, multi-disciplined practices, it is my view that the future belongs to the more niche, specialist practices that are able to offer not only competitive pricing but a more personable service.
“When I met with Matthew Fleetwood it became immediately clear that we share the same vision, values and ideas. The decision to become part of the Beyond Group with its innovative approach was an easy one and since then, both the team and I have never looked back.”
The McAlister Family Law brand will be a separate business within the Beyond Professional Services Group portfolio, with Amanda and her team based across Manchester and Alderley Edge.
Fleetwood, who grew boutique practice Heaton’s before selling to international firm Fieldfishers in 2014, adds; “The investment in Amanda and her management team confirms, and to some extent, validates our model and approach. We said that we would invest in complimentary professional services businesses led by strong management teams and that is exactly what we are doing. We are moving fast, having made our second acquisition within four months, and are committed to growing something special for both our people and our customers.
“It will, I expect, take the market some time to understand what we are trying to achieve and the positioning of the brands within our portfolio. It is a different approach to traditional law firm structures but having grown the business from six to over 30 people in just four months, and with a corresponding growth rate, we feel we are tracking in the right direction. That said, we always remain very humble and minded of what the Group is about; its people, culture and customers. We will need to take a breath over the next few weeks whilst we continue to integrate and make further improvements to our IT infrastructure, and to ensure we do not compromise our values for growths sake.
“We have made no secret of our ambition to have a business that focuses on family and child law within our portfolio. We wanted to ensure the branding resonated with the business’ core market and of course, are also leveraging off the strong reputation of Amanda. Using the McAlister name as the brand was an obvious choice.
“Having a tier 1 family team led by Amanda is a coup for the Group and we are confident that this team’s ambition, drive and determination will see the business grow and expand. Strategically, McAlister Family Law will allow the Group to confirm its position within Manchester and expand into Cheshire over the coming months.
“The investment is a testament to the Group’s ability to operate a corporate model, offer real equity and ownership to its management teams, and enable the businesses within our portfolio to leverage off each other. Amanda’s team bring excellent marketing and business development skills, particularly in the digital arena, which the wider Group will benefit hugely from. Likewise, McAlister Family Law will be supported by the Group’s infrastructure and its central and senior team as we continue to invest in the technology, culture and people.
“More importantly for the Group, Amanda and the management team at McAlister Family Law share the same core values, vision and culture. We work with positive individuals in a positive environment, ensuring that regardless of the role, responsibility and title, our people are encouraged to be an integral part of what is a very transparent and inclusive business. We want them to grow, develop and contribute in an environment where they can enjoy responsibility and feel very much aligned with the business and part of something.”
McAlister Family Law is part of Beyond Professional Services Group, a business with legal services at its core with a genuinely different approach. Fundamentally honest with core values such as loyalty, transparency, dynamism and inclusion, the Group aims to go above and beyond what is usually expected from a law firm to offer straight-forward, transparent and customer-focussed practical advice with style and personality, using the very best technology to drive efficiency all the time.
