Merger talks between Addleshaw Goddard and Maclay Murray & Spens (MMS) have broken down.
The Lawyer broke the news that the two firms were engaged in merger talks in November but at the time neither firm had escalated the discussions to a partnership vote. It is now understood that talks have broken down.
If the merger had taken place it would have created a new firm with a turnover of £236m, according to data in The Lawyer UK 200: The Top 100. Currently Addleshaws has no offices in Scotland and the deal would have given the firm a base in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
A Maclays spokesperson said: “MMS keeps in touch with other firms on an ongoing basis and sometimes such discussions encompass the possibility of collaboration of some kind.
“I can confirm that we’re not in any such ongoing discussions with any firm at the moment.”
The spokesperson added that Maclays was committed to growing the firm through lateral hires, strategic acquisitions or mergers.
Maclays is one of the largest independent firms in Scotland after a number of mergers saw its competitors swallowed up by larger UK firms.
In 2012 McGrigors merged with real estate heavyweight Pinsent Masons. The merger created a £282.5m firm and made Pinsents the twelfth biggest UK firm by turnover. The following year CMS Cameron McKenna announced that it was tying the knot with Dundas & Wilson in a deal which boosted its revenue to £277m.
