Legalign Global alliance member Wotton + Kearney has entered a partnership with investment firm Straight Bat. This move will assist the firm to accelerate its ambitious client solutions and growth objectives.

Under the deal, Straight Bat is taking a minority stake in Wotton + Kearney, providing insight and governance with two non-executive board appointments and injecting equity and corporate expertise into our business.

The partnership allows Wotton + Kearney to make a significant investment in accelerating the delivery of its strategy, which involves attracting the best talent in key insurance lines, capturing new market opportunities and investing in legal tech to benefit its clients.

It reinforces the firm’s ongoing commitment to deliver expertise across a greater number of insurance products from more places across the region. Recently, this commitment has seen Wotton + Kearney expand its teams in core areas like major loss property, energy and infrastructure, as well as in speciality lines, such as health, cyber and marine. The firm has also recently opened its seventh office in Adelaide.

Wotton + Kearney’s strategy also responds to the growing need to increase our investment in legal technology and data-driven client solutions. This is critical as many insurers are looking to leverage data to assist with risk selection, risk mitigation and appropriate pricing.

Straight Bat is a private equity fund that invests for the long-term in mature, robust, profitable, medium-sized Australian businesses and assists its business partners to deliver their strategic plans. For their part, the Straight Bat team were impressed by Wotton + Kearney’s standing in the insurance market and are excited about bringing their broader business skills to the firm’s evolving growth story.

As part of the partnership arrangements, Wotton + Kearney has appointed two new non-executive directors, Rob Nicholls and Steve Gledden. Steve Gledden is a former McKinsey & Co consultant who has 25+ years’ experience in professional services, private equity and venture capital in Australia and the United States. Rob Nicholls has diverse strategy, governance and business growth experience, including five years as a CEO growing the national footprint of an industrial services business and 20+ years at Westpac and in M+As.