Firms join to form Preston heavyweight

Two Lancashire firms, Napthens and Roscoes, are merging to create a new £7m corporate and commercial outfit headquartered in Preston. Both firms are more than 200 years old. However, last year each independently conducted strategic reviews, both of which concluded that a merger was necessary if they were to achieve their strategic ambitions. On Friday 21 July, the partners of Napthens and Roscoes signed heads of agreement to merge the two businesses. The combined firm, which is expected to go live on 1 November, will be known as Napthens and will have around 50 lawyers, including 21 partners and more than 100 support staff. It will have branch offices in Blackburn, Bamber Bridge and Longridge in a catchment area covering central, east and south Lancashire and the Ribble Valley.