North west law firm McHale and Co has acquired Sedgwick Legal.

Sedgwick’s Middleton office will be McHale Legal’s fourth in Greater Manchester with their headquarters in Altrincham plus Stretford and Heywood.

McHale’s managing partner Andrew McHale said: “I am delighted to welcome the partners and staff of Sedgwick Legal into the McHale Legal family of firms.

“We have demonstrated how acquisitions like that can be genuine ‘win-win’ situations for all concerned, including existing clients who have more services opened up to them.

“We already are talking to other firms and believe that we will be approached by more firms who see the obvious benefit for all of being part of something bigger.”

Roger Dennerly, Sedgwick's head of employment and commercial, is retiring but the other partners, Peter Carey and Judith Dennerly, who have both been with the firm since the 1980s, will be joining McHale.

In a letter to its clients, Sedgwick Legal said: “We are delighted to be joining the McHale family - it has been clear for some time that the ethos of the two firms is closely aligned.

“The emphasis going forward will be in offering the same excellent levels of client service in a friendly and approachable manner.”

Michael Sedgwick formed the company in his own name in 1961 in central Manchester and the firm was probably best known as Sedgwick Phelan & Partners when it opened offices in Old Trafford and Middleton in 1985.

To coincide with the 50th birthday celebrations for the firm in June 2011, Sedgwick Phelan became Sedgwick Legal Limited.

McHale has previously joined forces with J Arnold Hancock, based in Stretford, in 2015, and Waldron & Schofield in Heywood in 2011.

McHale Legal, which now employs 60 people, specialises in services for the individual as well as small and medium-sized businesses, offering a complete one stop service.

McHale also has Polish and Russian departments, and a specialist sports division representing sports professionals and clubs.