Muckle LLP: dedicated to its owner-managed business heartland

Mar 20 2008 By Jane Emery

With over 75% of its turnover generated by North East owner-managed businesses and recognition by Legal 500 of its “dedicated advice and services to SMEs” Muckle LLP’s managing partner, Stephen McNicol, reviews the firm’s strength in the sector.

IN A high percentage of the regions’ owner-managed businesses, the owners are integrally involved in the strategy, management and direction of their business. That means anything their business does has a very personal feel to it for them.

Although Muckle LLP has acknowledged strengths in its core practice areas: corporate; commercial; property; employment; dispute resolution and private client, it is the way that these service lines are brought together that really matters to an owner/manager. Over the years our reputation in this sector has come from our people developing such strong relationships with clients and a detailed understanding of the business that they are considered part of their core team. The need, in many cases, for a trusted adviser is strong: there are few people who an owner/manager can talk to in total confidence. It can be a lonely job, so identifying and building relationships with a trusted adviser is important and can be very valuable.

Making the jump from a professional service provider to trusted adviser is not easy, but that is what we have always aspired to. Providing that help, guidance and support can be even more important than our technical legal advice at times.

We also find that this allows us to build long-term relationships with our clients, working with them over a number of years: from start-up, through periods of fast growth, to maturity and, on a number of occasions, to subsequent sale or flotation.

Our client portfolio includes a broad spread of owner-managed businesses from sectors in the region ranging from high-tech university spin-out companies to care homes; from IT companies to manufacturers; and from engineering businesses to professional service firms.

Helping new businesses has always been, and continues to be, an important part of our offering. Over the past few months we have acted for a number of start-ups and fledgling companies. Quick TV recently secured over £800,000 worth of funding to develop their interactive television platform, which is due to launch in 2009, with our help.

The firm also worked with Point OV, the ethical online store, to help it raise more than £800,000 of funding. In both cases our team worked closely with the entrepreneurs and with the regional equity investors (North Star Equity Investors) with whom with have a strong track record of success.

Another example of our work with dynamic, successful, regional businesses is what we have been doing with Durham Scientific Crystals (DSC), a company which had its origins within Durham University.

The company has developed a process which is set to revolutionise X-ray scanners. It has been through three successful rounds of fund raising from investors, including its major shareholder the London and New York based technology venture capitalist Amphion Innovations.

DSC recently won a £1.5m contract for an aviation security project for the UK Home Office to develop liquid and plastic explosive detection machines. They are poised to exploit a growing global market and are set to become a world-beater and a major contributor to the North East economy. At the last financing round, they were worth over £22m.

Acquisitions from large overseas parent companies have figured highly with the MBOs of Mitsumi UK, an electronic components company, from its Japanese parent and Fendor Hansen, a glazing company, from its Danish parent company. These projects are indicative of the range in size and market sector of businesses operating in the region and of the type of clients we typically look after.

In the past 12 months the firm has acted on more than 600 different owner managed business related matters varying in value, size and complexity.

The nature of our support has been equally varied, ranging from advice in relation to shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers; assistance with finance raising, acquisitions, disposals and re-structuring; and input on strategy development, succession planning, relocations and expansions.

What is very clear is that, in addition to demonstrating our capability through the spate of recent high-profile, high-value transactions, Muckle LLP remains firmly rooted in its North East heartland. The firm is absolutely dedicated to the region and to providing a personalised, high-quality service to the small to medium-sized businesses that are the bedrock of our economy.