Sell-out 'not for UK'

The chief executive of the top South African law firm which sold out to a bank said last week that he was not sure the model would work in England and Wales.

Johannesburg-based Edward Nathan & Friedland - which was one of the country's top law firms - was bought in 2000 by Africa's biggest bank, Nedcor Investment Bank, with its 18 equity partners sharing R400 million (27 million).

As a result, the firm had to stop doing reserved work - conveyancing and litigation - which chief executive Coenraad Jonker said had been its least profitable areas anyway.

It bills itself as 'corporate law advisers and consultants'.

Last year in London, niche entertainment firm Statham Gill Davies was similarly bought by accountancy group Tenon; like at Edward Nathan, the lawyers gave up their practising certificates, while the litigators formed their own firm.

However, Mr Jonker said the different market conditions in Johannesburg and London made it less likely that a larger English firm would make such a deal.

London is a much more established market with a broad range of expertise for companies to choose from, he said; in South Africa, by contrast, there is a skills shortage and the ability to offer a one-stop shop 'is at a higher premium'.

He said Edward Nathan was growing at around 20% a year.

While it is conflicted out of financial services work, Mr Jonker said the ability to integrate legal and financial advice has 'given access to markets that we wouldn't have been able to access as a law firm'.