Top defendant firm backed by private equity reports huge profit rise

A defendant firm has reported a massive increase in profits and confirmed the potential backing from its new owner for further growth.

North west firm Keoghs grew its turnover by 5% to £107m and increased profit before tax by 36% to £30.7m in the year ended 31 May 2022, according to its annual report published earlier this month.

Those figures are in stark contrast to many claimant law firms which have reported that they struggled during the same period as they felt the after-effects of Covid-19 and lockdowns reducing the number of claims that were made.

Keoghs says it has continued to invest in technology to bring new solutions to the market and drive efficiency to meet the demands of the changing sector.

‘We continue to be well placed to capitalise on the opportunities in the market place as the firm’s competitive advantage is focused on combining low-cost workflow processing with operational and process excellence,’ said the directors’ report. ‘Our goal is to be the best in class specialist provider of dispute resolution services for the insurance industry.’

The balance sheet showed that net assets attributable to the members of the LLP rose from £48.6m to £62m in 2022. Cash reserves doubled to more than £3.6m.

While profits and turnover increased, the LLP managed to reduce staff costs slightly by cutting support staff from 293 to 270. The number of fee earners (1,221) was almost identical to the year before.

The firm now operates as part of the Davies Group insurance business, following a deal agreed in 2020. The Keoghs accounts state that Davies Group was acquired in 2021 by investment firm BC Partners, with a £350m war chest secured to be used for working capital and acquisition requirements which can be drawn down in five working days.

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