Support staff at Moore Barlow face redundancy after listed law firm Knights completed its £27 million acquisition of the firm's commercial and private client practices on 4 November. Knights has declined to say how many people lost their jobs.

Knights is paying £18 million upfront, with a further £9 million due over the next three years subject to conditions. Around 160 Moore Barlow fee-earners are transferring to Knights, which says it is now the largest legal and professional services business in the UK regions. The firm's most recent accounts show Moore Barlow employed 447 people in 2024/25.

Offices merged and closed

Knights has added offices in Guildford, Lymington, Richmond and Southampton in one of its biggest-ever acquisitions. The Woking and Guildford offices are being merged into a new Guildford base, while the City of London base has closed. Several former Moore Barlow employees said on social media that they were leaving, some after decades with the firm.

Moore Barlow's clinical negligence and personal injury teams are joining Fletchers Solicitors, while its Court of Protection team is joining EMG Solicitors. No confirmed headcount for the redundancies has been published, and none is stated here.

Sources: Law Gazette, Support staff face redundancy as £27m merger deal between Knights and Moore Barlow complete, November 2026; Law Gazette, Law firm Knights seals £27m acquisition of part of Moore Barlow in second biggest deal since listing, 2026.