Commercial solicitors Kimbells, based in Milton Keynes, today joined forces with regional heavyweight law firm Freeth Cartwright in a move which will increase the network to 8 offices nationally.

The Kimbells business, which has been renamed Kimbells Freeth, has a significant number of blue chip clients and is a national supplier to the drinks, hospitality and leisure sector, and this merger will give them the opportunity to increase the range of services it provides to them. This will add considerably to Freeth Cartwright's sector expertise as well as providing another strategically important location for the Firm in the south-east.

Peter Smith, Freeth Cartwright's chief executive said: "We are delighted to welcome our Kimbells colleagues to the merged firm and look forward to working together. Bringing the firm under the Freeth Cartwright Group umbrella will help strengthen the services we are able to offer and ensure that we remain robust in the new legal services environment."

Peter Holden, Kimbells' chairman commented: "We believe this gives the firm the opportunity to meet our aspiration to become a regional heavyweight. By joining with Freeth Cartwright we will be able to provide clients with a wider range of legal services as well as a greater resource in terms of a larger team. At the same time they can be confident that locally based lawyers will continue to be easily available to them, to support their legal needs".

Freeth Cartwright currently has over 90 partners and a total staff of 450 across a number of offices, with the head office based in Nottingham.