Asset management consultant MJ Hudson is terminating the training contracts of its 12 trainee solicitors, The Lawyer has learnt, amid concerns over its financial viability.
The Lawyer understands that the terminations, which will be effective as of the end of this month, include trainees at various stages of their contracts.
Company concerns have been brewing for months. In December, the group’s chief financial officer Peter Connell was suspended. In February, MJ Hudson’s auditor EY also resigned from its role due to its loss of “trust and confidence in the company’s management and those charged with governance, and in their ability, along with your finance team, to provide us with accurate and reliable information for audit.”
MJ Hudson’s CEO Matthew Hudson stepped down two days after EY’s announcement in mid-February.
The terminations of training contracts also come after the business decided to engage advisers Alvarez & Marsal to look at a potential sale of one or a number of its business lines.
The group was suspended from training on the Alternative Investment Market last December due to matters related to its year-end reporting.
MJ Hudson is a boutique funds firm known for specialising in private markets and alternative investments, founded by Matthew Hudson in 2010.
Hudson worked at SJ Berwin and fund management company Cabot Square Capital prior to founding the boutique. The firm was reported to have a revenue of £39.8m in 2021.
MJ Hudson was approached for comment.
