Prepare for Mishcorp.
Mishcon de Reya's partners have voted to float their firm on the London Stock Exchange, with staff set to receive shares in the business.
It has been predicted that Mishcon will become the most valuable listed law firm in the UK and reach as much as £750m, more than double the valuations of listed UK firms like DWF (circa £275m), RollOnFriday Firm of the Year 2021 Keystone Law (£210m), and Golden Turd-adjacent Knights (£350m). But it could be £1bn. Or £500m. No-one knows and Mischon isn't saying.
Mishcon voted In April to explore an initial public offering, and instructed JP Morgan to advise on the mooted IPO. On Monday, its circa 150 partners, all of whom have equity, voted again and now it is a question of when, not if, the firm will attempt to float.
The final tally to green light the IPO was well above the 75% threshold required to approve pushing for an IPO, RollOnFriday understands, and while the votes of those with more equity carry more weight in partnership votes, the number of partners voting to try to Mishcoin it was also understood to be substantial.
Expansion, investment and fast fortunes for senior partners in management have followed other law firm floats, sometimes to the chagrin of more junior employees without a stake in the stock, but Mishcon confirmed that its plan still included dishing out shares to every member of staff.
It still wouldn't be drawn on the details of who would get how much, having previously emphasised instead that income would be used to grow the business in Asia and attract new talent.
Mishcon had previously noted a regulatory issue, believed to relate to a client account snafu for which it is being prosecuted by the SRA, which it has said it does not expect to be an obstacle.
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