As part of the brand refresh, HPX has merged allied businesses Source, Emerson CoSec, Compliance for Business, MacMillan Trade Marks, and Evolution Corporate Services. Effective as of October, these businesses have adopted and expanded into the Source brand, in a move HPX said better reflects its service offering to clients. This comes after the recent acquisition of The Fold Legal — now Hamilton Locke.

HPX Group brings together Hamilton Locke and Source to provide legal, governance, risk and compliance services in a more effective way that springs directly from client needs.

This news was followed by the acquisition of specialist financial services compliance firm QRC Consulting (QRC), with the business joining Source as of this month.

Speaking about the acquisition, the chief executive of HPX Group and managing partner of Hamilton Locke, Nick Humphrey, said he was “delighted to welcome the QRC team to our group”.

“The business strategically aligns with our existing compliance service offering, and further bolsters our capabilities to deliver leading compliance services across Australia,” he said.

“We are focused on evolving the delivery model for professional services across legal, governance, risk and compliance, and the addition of QRC deepens our compliance expertise significantly.”

HPX Group has continued to grow, with total staff numbers across the group now 240, including QRC, and in conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Mr Humphrey said that whilst day-to-day operations have not changed, there have been a number of improvements.

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“Hamilton Locke is focused on evolving the legal, risk and compliance services business. With innovation at our core, we established an agile platform where our people can thrive and provide the best possible service to our clients,” he said.

“The new branding and new simplified operating structure clarify our service offering to clients. With the new branding, we can better show clients the breadth of service delivery across the group. The breadth of services and unique manner of delivering these services will enhance our growth potential both for existing clients and for new clients.”

In addition, the group also has “stated an intention” to pursue a listing on the ASX as part of its growth strategy, which Mr Humphrey said was the next “logical step”.

“A listed business brings access to capital for investment in systems, technology and growth and enables the creation of real equity value that aligns all our people with both the long-term interests of clients and the long-term interests of the business,” he explained.

“Any listing needs to be driven by the objectives of the business. In order to attract the right investors and to ensure support for growth, a listed business needs to be at sufficient scale with a mix of revenue and an articulated growth strategy. We see listing as a continuation of our growth journey and not the end.”

And with 2023 looming, Mr Humphrey added that the HPX Group, and Hamilton Locke, will focus on client service delivery and staff attraction.

“In 2023, the group will continue to broaden and deepen its capabilities to provide high-quality client services across a broad range of legal, risk and compliance services. This is primarily aimed at bringing into the group high-quality people and providing them with an environment in which they can thrive both personally and professionally,” he concluded.

“Quality people in an engaging and collaborative environment provide excellent quality services. If we can attract good people and provide a great environment, we will continue to grow rapidly in 2023.”