By Louis Goss
Gateley has acquired specialist biotech patent attorney firm Symbiosis for c.£2.5m as the listed law firm pushes forwards with plans to bolster its intellectual property (IP) offerings.
The AIM-listed company’s acquisition comes just months after it snapped up Nottingham patent and trademark specialist Adamson Jones in January.
The £2.5m deal will see Gateley pay £1.5m in cash and a further £1m in newly issued shares.
Established in 2008 by scientist turned patent laywer Julie Myint PhD, Symbiosis IP focuses on serving start-ups and academic researchers in the UK’s fast-growing biotech sector.
In the financial year ending on 31 March 2022, Symbiosis IP generated revenues of £1.8m leading to profits of £0.3m.
The acquisition comes as the UK government has invested billions in plans to strengthen the UK’s position as a biotech hub.
In 2020, the life sciences sector generated £88.9bn in revenues whilst employing 268,000 people, government figures show.
Gateley chief executive Rod Waldie said this “strategic acquisition will extend the reach of our offering in IP, patents and trademark work across our consultancy and legal services teams who operate in this field.”
“[The acquisition] forms part of an acquisitive and organic growth plan that builds on the expertise we have in the intangible assets market and where we believe there is potential for further development”.
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