Solicitor hopes to cash in on domain name frenzy

A Peterborough solicitor whose hobby is registering domain names hopes to make 34 million if US businesses buy up his cyber stock.Johnson Thomas, principal at Bridgeman Taylor, is now targeting the UK market.

He has registered a large number of sites such as b2bsolicitors.com, virtualsolicitors.com and pfisolicitors.com, and his frenzy shows no sign of abating.Mr Thomas said he is looking for a strategic partner to develop the sites and will target firms specialised in the named area.

He proposes to take a minority shareholding and stock options.

He said: 'If we do not make use of this opportunity [to register proper domain names along with firm names], somebody else who is not a solicitor and probably living in America will register these names and we will be at their mercy.'Mr Thomas tried to register solicitor.com, but it had already been registered in Australia.

He went on to try to register more which had gone to Americans.

He has signed a contract with cyber estate agents, hitdomains.com, to sell a portfolio of 11 domain names to US financial services companies.

He values them at 34 million.

Anne Mizzi