Manchester’s Wacks Caller has pledged to stay independent despite conceding that the firm last year held informal merger talks with Halliwell Landau.

Wacks Caller managing partner Martin Caller confirmed that the 18-partner firm had had informal discussions with Halliwells, but stressed the two firms were not in merger talks. However, a number of rivals have described a Wacks Caller merger with Halliwells as a good fit.