Harrogate Family Law secures £165,000 loan to support its growth

The firm has almost doubled the size of its team from eight to 15 in the past two years. The funding will provide additional working capital to enable it to further expand the team and take on additional casework.

Harrogate Family Law covers all areas of family law, specialising in financial settlements on divorce. The practice was founded in 2010 by Andrew Meehan, who had previously worked in a number of large law firms. He continues to lead the business alongside director, Laura Mounsey.

Mr Meehan said: “After 13 years in Harrogate, we are now firmly established on the legal landscape and continue to grow on the back of referrals from clients.

"A key part of our success lies in our people. Family lawyers not only need legal expertise, because they are dealing with people at some of the most difficult times of their lives, they also require emotional intelligence and the ability to think on their feet amid the pressure of family breakdown.

“We will continue to grow and build the team while ensuring we choose the right people so we can deliver the best service to our clients.”

Andy Clough of Mercia said: “Andrew and the team have established a strong track record and are now recognised as one of the leading family law practices in North Yorkshire.

"Having outgrown its previous home, the firm has now moved to new premises with additional capacity and is set to embark on the next phase of its growth. The funding will support it on that journey.”

Debbie Sorby, Senior Manager at British Business Bank, said: “Creating new jobs is one of the core objectives of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, and it is fantastic that this NPIF business loan will help Harrogate Family Law create even more roles.

"North Yorkshire is clearly thriving and this investment is a reflection that the fund is successful in reaching companies in need of funding to achieve their growth goals.”

Pete Davidson of Redsky Finance provided fundraising advice to the company. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

Mercia provides capital across its four asset classes of balance sheet, venture, private equity and debt capital. The group initially supports businesses via its third-party funds under management. Mercia can provide further funding by deploying follow-on capital from its own balance sheet. Mercia currently has £1.4bn of assets under management and, since its IPO (initial public offering) in December 2014, it has invested around £111m gross into its direct investment portfolio.