Duke Street's investment in the Parabis Group has been given the go-ahead after the UK claims management firm clinched a new Alternative Business Structure licence, paving the way for more private equity investment in the law sector. 

The so-called Tesco Law, brought into effect last year, has opened the industry up to financial investors and companies outside of the law sector. 

With Parabis' new licence, 20 firms have secured the ABS licence and now Duke Street will be free to start consolidating the country's highly fragmented swathe of independent bit players. 

Parabis chief Tim Oliver said: "We are excited about the possibilities that being granted an ABS licence now opens up to us.”

Parabis provides personal injury litigation services for insurers under the trading names of Plexus Law and Cogent Law, and also offers claims management outsourcing, loss adjusting and health & safety assessments. It has managed to grow revenues by 25 per cent in the last four years and turns over £108m (€136.5m). 

Duke Street agreed to invest £200m to take control of Parabis in February, four months after the Legal Services Act was passed into law, but the success of the investment was contingent on winning the licence.