Law firm Knights Group predicts double-digit profit growth
- Knights Group said underlying pre-tax profits will grow to at least £25m
- It also forecasts that net debt will rise by around £6m to £35.2m as a result of acquisitions
Result: ‘Our people have performed well over the past year,’ says David Beech, CEO of Knights Group (pictured)
Legal and professional services firm Knights Group expects double-digit profit growth for the past financial year.
The London-listed company said underlying pre-tax profits will have grown 16 percent to at least £25 million for the year ending in April, while revenue is expected to rise 6 percent to around £150 million.
It also forecasts that net debt will increase by around £6 million to £35.2 million as a result of the acquisitions of St James’ Square and Baines Wilson, and another payment related to the joint venture with sales consultancy Convex Corporate Finance.
All three companies are based in Northern England, where Knights has significantly expanded its presence in recent years.
Knights told investors it was “well positioned to consider selective acquisitions from its healthy pipeline of opportunities” after improving its operating platform during the year.
The new chairman, Dave Wilson, oversaw 14 acquisitions while holding senior roles, including chief financial officer and deputy chief executive, at fraud prevention specialist GB Group.
David Beech, CEO of Knights, said: “Our people have performed well over the past year.
“We have continued to execute our growth strategy, attracting high-quality talent and delivering operational improvements across the business, leaving us well positioned to deliver further growth.”
Knights Group Holdings shares is up 8.1 per cent to 153p after the trading update and is up around 62 per cent in the past year.
However, shares remained less than half their levels in March 2022, when the company warned of a slowdown in corporate work and admitted that remote working was hurting business.
In January, the company said it rebounded to organic revenue growth in the six months ending in October thanks to strong performance in non-cyclical areas such as private equity and dispute resolution.
Furthermore, the company announced that pre-tax profits rose by more than two-thirds to £6.9m, alongside a 5 per cent increase in the interim dividend to 1.61p per share.
Since then, Knights has seen the time it takes for a business to be paid by one of its customers drop from 31 days to 28 days.
The group plans to provide a broader trading update when it announces its full-year results in January.