The Solicitors Regulation Authority has shut down a West End of London firm on the same day it was subject to a winding-up petition. Yesterday's intervention into Burlingtons Group Limited was necessary to protect client interests, the regulator said.
Court records show that Burlingtons Legal LLP was this week subject to a winding up petition from lender Kingsway Asset Finance Limited.
Burlingtons was formed in 2011 by chief executive Deborah Mills, who had previously established a legal practice which merged with London firm Howard Kennedy. Burlingtons was a full-service firm based in the heart of London, just off Oxford Street.
The most recent accounts for Burlingtons Legal LLP show that the firm employed 38 people as of March 2025. Cash reserves had drained from around £580,000 to £10,182 and the value of loans due within two years had risen from £1.7m to £2.8m. The company had net assets of just £9,375, down from around £156,000 the previous year.
On 1 April 2025, the LLP transferred its business assets and trading activities to Burlingtons Group Limited, which is the entity subject to SRA intervention.
Despite finances appearing to be tighter, the firm continued to grow. In March this year, Burlingtons signed a business transfer agreement with London firm Cruickshank Limited to grow its Asia desk and bring new staff on board. Mills hailed the merger as a further step towards creating an Asia desk that would be the ‘largest in the UK’.
A few weeks later, Burlingtons announced another merger with boutique London commercial firm Gannons. Mills said at the time that the deal ‘represents growth opportunities for the Burlingtons Group including operational efficiencies, resource optimisation and strategic advantages in terms of growth and reach’.
