Oak Legal Group, a legal services platform backed by the investment company CKM3, has acquired Hedges Law Limited, the Oxford-based solicitors’ firm, as its first deal. CKM3 says the acquisition completed after Solicitors Regulation Authority approval. The primary sources disclose no price and no CKM3 shareholding.
Current as at 15 October 2026.
Dated facts
Companies House records Colm McGinley as appointed a director of Hedges Law Limited on 17 June 2026. CKM3’s portfolio page says: "Following regulatory approval from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Oak Legal Group completed its first acquisition of Hedges Law". The page gives no completion date. Legal Futures reported the deal on 9 July 2026. It says Oak Legal "has already agreed heads of terms with two other law firms following the deal to buy Hedges Law". We did not find a press release from the parties on the CKM3 or Hedges Law sites, so the report is the only source for the announcement date and the heads of terms.
Deal table
| Date | Target | Buyer/Backer | Sector | Type | Stake disclosed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jun 2026 (director appointment); announcement July 2026 | Hedges Law Limited | Oak Legal Group; backer CKM3 | Legal services (solicitors) | Acquisition; first by Oak Legal Group | No | Companies House; CKM3 |
The buyer
CKM3 says that "The business was founded by Colm McGinley after the sale of MCG Group". It describes MCG as "the staffing business he built and led to over £150 million in revenue". On funding, it says "we deploy our own capital rather than running a fixed fund". Among the situations it lists are "founder succession, partnership capital, and selective buy-and-build strategies". Oak Legal Group is described as "a legal services investment and operating platform focused on acquiring and supporting high-quality regional law firms across the UK". Its stated ambition is to "build a multi-brand legal services group". The rules for dating and sourcing a deal report are on How We Source a Deal.
Context
Hedges says it was "Established in 1789 by John Kirby Hedges". Its site gives its SRA ID as 552980. CKM3 describes the firm as having "a long-standing reputation in private client, property and family law". Figures on private equity investment in UK law firms for 2025 are in our Tally note PE put about £250m into UK law firms in 2025.
What is not disclosed
- Consideration, valuation and any deferred element.
- CKM3’s percentage and the identity of the other investor.
- The completion date and the SRA approval record.
- Which firms signed heads of terms.
- Hedges’ last filed accounts cover the year "made up to 31 March 2025", so they predate the transaction.
Sources
- CKM3: Oak Legal Group
- CKM3: About
- Hedges Law: home page and news page
- Companies House: filing history, Hedges Law Limited
Editorial assessment
Treat the next points as the desk’s interpretation of the public record; the filings themselves do not say this.
- CKM3 states that it uses its own capital and has no fixed fund. That implies no fund-life exit timetable, but the sources do not say what exit or holding terms apply to Hedges.
- The Companies House appointment dates from before the July announcement. Director appointments on the register can therefore precede publicity.
- Heads of terms are reported, not documented. Treat the "two further firms" as unconfirmed until the parties name them.
