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  • Status: Current
  • Date: December 2019
  • Sector:
    • Business & Technology Services
  • Buy & Build: 3

www.murgitroyd.com/

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Murgitroyd Group

Murgitroyd is a leading European provider of IP services, delivering patent and trade mark legal advice together with a breadth of IP support services. Sovereign is working with the management team to develop its range of services and expand its global presence through a strategy of Buy & Build.

Investment background

Established by Ian Murgitroyd in 1975, Murgitroyd was quickly recognised for its high quality service offering. By 2001, the Group had listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) and went on to make eight strategic acquisitions becoming one of the largest groups of patent and trade mark attorneys in Europe with a network of offices in countries including the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Finland and Central America.

Sovereign took Murgitroyd private from AIM in a £65m deal in December 2019.

VALUE CREATION TO DATE

  • Acquisitions to date:
    • Hanna Moore + Curley
    • UDL Intellectual Property
    • Creation IP
  • Identified and appointed experienced non-executive chair
  • Supported technology platform development

The story so far

Murgitroyd enjoys a rare proposition in the IP market by providing an integrated attorney led offering and associated IP support services capability. With Sovereign’s support, Murgitroyd is further developing its global presence, service offering, and tech-enabled capabilities against a backdrop of increasing complexity of multi-jurisdictional IP generation and protection, and the rising trend for outsourcing these services.

Acquisitions to date:

August 2021: Hanna Moore + Curley is an Irish patent and trade mark attorney firm specialising in obtaining IP protection for technology-led companies. The acquisition strengthens Murgitroyd’s pan-European presence, complementing the range of services offered, and expands its global reach through HMC’s representative office in China.

October 2021: UDL Intellectual Property specialises in British, European and international patent, trade mark, design and copyright services to clients across multiple sectors.

April 2022: Creation IP’s innovative clients are complementary to Murgitroyd’s client base. Murgitroyd’s broader scope of IP services and deeper attorney capacity and capability, creates significant opportunity for growth.

Murgitroyd has grown to become the largest IP practice in the UK and has consolidated its position as one of the largest operators in Europe. Today the Group employs c.450 staff and has 17 offices across the UK, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and Finland.


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Murgitroyd's perspective

The demand from businesses to support their IP strategy continues to rise. With Sovereign's investment and partnership we are well positioned to provide our clients with a broader scope of services and further expand our international footprint.

Gordon Stark / CEO / Murgitroyd