Gareth Buckley and Steve Elliott of The Insolvency Company, part of Sumer Group, were appointed on 30 April 2026 as Joint Administrators of BLB Solicitors Limited, a long-established law firm with offices across Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Almondsbury, Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon.
Prior to their appointment, the Administrators worked with the leadership team to explore all available options to preserve the business and protect employment. Through this work a buyer was found and a sale of the firm as a going concern was agreed in principle, which would have safeguarded a significant number of jobs. However, and unfortunately, the buyer withdrew at a late stage, leaving insufficient time to seek viable alternatives. As the Administrators are not solicitors, under Solicitor Regulation Authority (SRA) rules it was not possible to trade the firm whilst seeking a new buyer. As a result, the Administrators had no alternative upon being appointed but to cease trading and sadly make all staff redundant.
The Administrators’ focus will now be on taking steps to obtain the maximum value from realisation of the firm’s assets. Representatives of The Insolvency Company will contact creditors in due course with further information regarding the progress of the administration.
The Insolvency Company is liaising closely with the SRA to ensure that the interests of the clients of the firm are safeguarded during this process. The Joint Administrators will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to support a smooth transition and deliver the best possible outcome for creditors, employees and clients of the firm.
Commenting on the appointment, Gareth Buckley, Head of Insolvency at The Insolvency Company said: “We worked hard to secure a sale of the business as a going concern, which would have preserved a significant number of jobs, and we had a deal in place. It is deeply disappointing that it fell through at a late stage. Due to the timing and lack of available funding there was no alternative other than to cease trading and dismiss the workforce. Our immediate priority now is to ensure clients and creditors are kept informed and to support employees through the process of making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”
