SRA Investigation into Law Firm Involves ‘Sophisticated Suspected Fraud’ Over £39.5m Client Funds

IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT:-

• The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed that its ongoing investigation into PM Law Ltd centres on a “sophisticated suspected fraud” involving the improper removal and misuse of around £39.5 million of client funds.
• The Sheffield-headquartered firm and its group of companies closed suddenly on or around 2 February 2026.
• The SRA intervened two days later, on 4 February 2026, to protect clients’ interests.

PM Law group details

• The network comprised 11 companies, 25 offices and more than 30 trading names, operating across Yorkshire, Cumbria, Berkshire, Derbyshire and London.
• The SRA has described its intervention as one of the largest and most complex ever undertaken, involving the handling of tens of thousands of client matters.

Clients affected

• Thousands of former clients have been impacted.
• Many were in the middle of buying or selling homes (with risks of collapsed transactions or lost deposits) or handling probate and estate administration matters during bereavement.

Compensation and client support (as of 17 April 2026)

• 92 claims totalling £9.31 million have been paid from the SRA Compensation Fund.
• A further £6.8 million has been paid out from funds held within the firm at the time of intervention.
• The total value of claims received to date (including those already paid) is estimated at £21.52 million; this figure may rise as more applications are submitted.
• 25,000 emails or letters have been sent to clients identified from seized files.
• 17,000 client enquiries have been handled.
• 9,300 live files returned to clients, with a further 20,000 files transferred in bulk to insurer clients.

The SRA has moved extra staff into its Compensation Fund team and intervention agents are working extended hours, including weekends, to process claims.

A new prioritisation schedule has been introduced based on the risk of harm to clients (e.g. urgent conveyancing cases first).

SRA statement Paul Hastings, SRA Director of Client Protection, said:

• “We are continuing to do all we can to support former clients of PM Law, including by reuniting them with their money or files.
• Some of those affected were in the process of buying or selling a home, facing the risk of collapsed moves, or losing their deposits.
• Others were dealing with delayed probate matters, often while managing bereavement and outstanding estate administration.
• Many of the former clients faced significant upheaval at a stressful time, so we have been determined to provide as much support as possible.”

LOSS

• The scale of the suspected shortfall is the second-largest in recent years, behind only the Axiom Ince case (£64m).

Law Society comment

• Law Society chief executive Ian Jeffery said the SRA has acted with openness and transparency but noted that another large collapse so soon after previous cases reinforces the need for the regulator to strengthen its core role and reduce future risks to the Compensation Fund.

WWW Sources  

1. Official SRA Press Update (21 April 2026) – Full statement https://www.sra.org.uk/news/news/press/update-support-clients-pm-law/
2. Law Gazette – ‘Suspected fraud’: £39.5m of client money missing from PM Law (21 April 2026) https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/suspected-fraud-395m-of-client-money-missing-from-pm-law/5126545.article
3. New Law Journal – Fallout escalates from collapsed firm (21 April 2026) https://www.newlawjournal.co.uk/content/fallout-escalates-from-collapsed-firm
4. BBC News – Collapsed law firm at centre of £39.5m fraud probe (22 April 2026) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0q9x04k42qo
5. Legal Futures – SRA puts size of suspected PM Law fraud at £40m (21 April 2026) https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/sra-puts-size-of-suspected-pm-law-fraud-at-40m
6. The SRA’s dedicated PM Law intervention page is here: https://www.sra.org.uk/news/news/pm-law-intervention/
7. Additional background coverage is available on Yorkshire Post, ITV News and other outlets.

This brief is compiled directly from the SRA’s official release and contemporaneous reporting for accuracy and ease of use.