The deal will see around 160 fee earners transfer to Knights, with the acquired business representing approximately £30 million in annual revenue.
Knights will pay £18 million upfront, with a further £9 million payable over the next three years subject to agreed conditions.
The transaction represents Knights' second-largest acquisition since listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, behind only its £30 million acquisition of IBB Law in 2025.
Moore Barlow has an established presence across the South East, operating from Richmond, Guildford, Woking, Southampton, Lymington and London.
As part of the integration, the Woking and Guildford operations are expected to combine at a new Guildford location, while Moore Barlow's City of London office will close.
The acquisition significantly expands Knights' capabilities across areas including property, private wealth and landed estates, while also bringing specialist schools and charities expertise into the business.
In particular, Moore Barlow has developed a strong reputation within the private school advisory market.
Knights believes bringing the businesses together will create further opportunities for cross-referrals and organic growth while giving Moore Barlow's clients access to the wider resources and services available across the national group.
Knights chief executive David Beech described Moore Barlow as a strong cultural and operational fit for the business, highlighting the opportunity to combine the firm's regional reputation and specialist lawyers with Knights' national scale and infrastructure.
Moore Barlow's history can be traced back more than 220 years, with the current firm created following the merger of Moore Blatch and Barlow Robbins in 2020.
Draft accounts for the year ending April 2026 showed the firm generating approximately £45 million in revenue, with £13 million in profits available for distribution to members.
The divisions acquired by Knights account for around 70% of Moore Barlow's overall revenue, equivalent to approximately £30 million.
The deal continues Knights' acquisition-led expansion strategy, with the South East having become a particular area of focus for the listed legal services group.
The parts of Moore Barlow not included in the Knights transaction are also moving to new firms.
Its clinical negligence and personal injury teams will join Fletchers Solicitors, while its Court of Protection team will become part of EMG Solicitors, Fletchers Group's specialist Court of Protection business.
Fletchers Group will also acquire Moore Barlow's interest in Aspire Law, the firm's joint venture with spinal cord injury charity Aspire. The business will continue operating under the Aspire Law brand.
The transaction is another significant example of the consolidation taking place across the UK legal sector.
For lawyers and legal professionals across the South East, the integration of around 160 fee earners into Knights creates one of the more notable regional movements of legal talent this year.
With offices being consolidated and practice groups moving between different firms, transactions of this scale can also create movement in the wider recruitment market as teams and individuals assess what the changes mean for their own careers.
For Knights, the acquisition provides considerably greater scale across the South East and adds established expertise in several of its existing core practice areas.
It also represents another substantial step in the group's continued expansion through the acquisition of established regional law firms and teams.
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