The Co-operative Group expands legal services business

The Co-operative Group is growing its Legal Services division with the acquisition of Sheffield-based Collective Legal Solutions Group Limited.

With 300 staff across England and Wales, Co-operative Legal Services provides a range of consumer legal services to members of the Group and the general public.

The Legal Services business forms part of the Group’s Consumer Services Division, which also includes its Funeralcare and General Insurance businesses.

Co-operative Legal Services is divided into six legal practice service areas: probate; wills; family law; personal injury; employment; and conveyancing. Collective Legal Solutions provides wills, trust and probate services at national level.

The acquisition aims to enhance the legal services offered by the Co-operative Group within the wills, probate and funeral planning market by enabling the organisation to serve its customers and members through a face-to-face channel.

Co-operative Legal Services is already a market leader in probate and estate administration and is one of the leading will writing businesses in the UK.

Rod Bulmer, chief executive of Consumer Services at the Group, said: “This acquisition is a perfect fit for the Co-op, supporting our purpose of championing a better way of doing business for you and your communities.

“Our consumer services businesses – General Insurance, Funeralcare and Legal services – already serve millions of our members in communities across the UK, and Collective Legal Solutions will further support that work. This acquisition also gives us the opportunity to consider how this face-to-face channel can support other services provided by our consumer services’ businesses and the wider Co-op Group.”

Matt Howells, managing director of Co-operative Legal Services added: “This is an exciting time for the Co-op Group and puts the consumer legal services business at the heart of the rebuild.

“We already have a leading wills and probate business, but in an area which consumers can sometimes find complex, this acquisition strengthens what we can offer our members by enabling us to also provide face to face services, in their local communities.”