Slater & Gordon’s plans to make further acquisitions in the UK market have hit a snag due to dissent from partners in the target firm, a UK media outlet has reported.

The Lawyer has been following Slaters’ courtship of Manchester based Pannone LLP, a full service firm catering to both private clients and corporates. The publication said that the initial plan was for the corporate practice to be spun off and the remainder of the firm to be acquired by Slaters.

 “It is now believed that several partners in cross-over areas, such as employment, compliance and dispute resolution, which are included in the Slater & Gordon deal but do not fit with its core PI business, are particularly uncomfortable with plans to move their practices there,” reported The Lawyer’s Hannah Gannagé-Stewart, citing sources who said that the future of the firm was in “deadlock”.

Growth in the UK is a key part of the Slater & Gordon strategy and the firm undertook a capital raising in May to fund this strategy. The firm recorded 37 percent revenue growth in FY2013.

Related story: Slater & Gordon's FY2013 financial results