Two big high street names are in advanced talks to merge with an eye on the conveyancing market, the Gazette understands.

Taylor Rose TTKW and McMillan Williams want to come together to create a 'conveyancing powerhouse' according to sources close to the deal. 

The firms have been in talks over the weekend and hope to agree details by the end of this week. 

'The aim is to create a powerhouse in conveyancing which will enable each company, and its teams of solicitors, to prosper', a source said.

News of the proposed merger comes two years after Taylor Rose TTKW paid more than £500,000 to buy Hertfordshire firm Breeze and Wyles (B&W).  

Taylor Rose TTKW now has over 500 people operating from 11 offices incuding its Peterborough headquarters and two offices in London. It also has a presence in Lichfield, Liverpool, Manchester, Northampton and Workington.

The firm was founded in 2009, when it grew out of defendant costs business Jaggards, and in 2015 merged with London firm Tucker Turner Kingsley Wood.

McMillan Williams is one of the country’s largest 'high-street' law firms. In 2015 it secured a multi-million pound investment boost from the Business Growth Fund (BGF). 

The south-eastern firm - which is based in east Croydon but has sites across England - has already grown from five offices in 1995 to 20 today.

The firm has stated its belief that clients want face-to-face contact with their legal advisers and has targeted 50 branches.