Knights and RWS complete UK deals, expanding legal and language businesses
Key Facts
Knights Group Holdings said it completed the acquisition of Moore Barlow LLP’s commercial and private client service lines on 2 November 2026, according to an announcement published by the group via Investegate. The deal expands Knights’ presence in legal services, with a defined scope of assets transferred. Before completion, Moore Barlow’s personal injury, clinical negligence and Court of Protection practices had been excluded. Knights said the seller disposed of those practices before completion, while the commercial and private client service lines transferred to Knights. This means the deal does not include Moore Barlow’s entire business, as stated in the initial draft.
In a separate deal, RWS Holdings completed its purchase of Acogroup, Acolad’s parent company, after receiving regulatory approvals from the French ministry and completing consultations with Acolad group works councils, according to an RWS announcement. The deal gives the group a broader base of corporate clients in Europe, the company said when it announced the purchase. Acolad operates in 22 countries across Europe and North America and has about 1,200 employees, according to details of the deal published by RWS in August. This geographic reach is part of the business that will join the group after completion. RWS said Acolad will join its Transform segment, where its business, clients and interpreting platform will benefit from the group’s language technology roadmap.
Acolad’s data for the year ended 31 December 2025 indicate the scale of the business being transferred: revenue of £182 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of £13 million. About half of its revenue came from regulated sectors, according to RWS’s deal announcement. The group also said when it agreed to the acquisition that about 75% of Acolad’s revenue came from localisation and related services. Together, these figures show a presence in regulated sectors and a significant focus on localisation services, alongside an interpreting platform and a European corporate client base. RWS said it will roll out its AI platforms to Acolad’s European customer base, describing this as a "significant value creation opportunity".
The deals come as the Bank of England’s Decision Maker Panel survey showed companies’ expectations for consumer price inflation over the coming year rising to 3.3% in the three months to October 2026, from 3.1% in the three months to September. In the October survey, 68% of companies expected to raise prices over the next twelve months, while 71% expected their profit margins to fall. The bank said price rises and margin cuts remained the most common forms of adjustment among companies in October. In the labour market, companies reported actual annual employment growth of -0.5% in the three months to October, compared with -0.2% in the three months to September. These indicators provide context for the conditions in which British businesses operate, without the sources linking the survey data to the two acquisitions.
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s next decision is due on 5 November 2026, while the current Bank Rate is 3.75%. The November meeting summary and minutes, along with the Monetary Policy Report, are scheduled for publication on the same day, according to the bank’s calendar. The next Decision Maker Panel survey data are due to be published on 4 December 2026. At company level, RWS said in its trading announcement that it expects to report its annual results for financial year 2026 on 15 December 2026. These dates provide near-term milestones for tracking company data and monetary policy decisions, with the November decision not yet released when the deals were announced as completed.