Cobbetts in administration; rescued by DWF

DWF has announced its intention to buy Manchester firm Cobbetts, which revealed earlier in the week that it had filed for administration, and was looking to sell the business "due to difficult trading conditions in the professional services sector". KPMG have been named as administrators.

Cobbetts filed for administration on 28 January, telling all staff the news on 30 January. The firm has 492 staff, including 74 partners. DWF has indicated that provided the deal is approved by the courts, the transfer of staff will begin within the next seven days. There has been no indication of how many will be retained, and no details have yet been made available on the fate of Cobbetts' trainees. Cobbetts and DWF were in merger talks in 2012, which were dropped after a failure to agree terms.

Andrew Leaitherland, managing partner and chief executive of DWF, said: "DWF's plans to grow, in a strategic, targeted way have been clearly set out and this move supports that goal. I am confident that the merging of the two firms will bring genuine benefits to both and, importantly, the joint client base. There are many synergies between the two firms in terms of the sectors in which we operate and this collaboration will further strengthen our existing business. I am very much looking forward to welcoming the new team to DWF."