Ince Group sees revenue jump 87 per cent but just misses £100m target
Legal and financial services firm Ince Group continued its rapid growth this year, with revenue increasing 87 per cent despite disruption from the coronavirus pandemic.
Although the firm narrowly missed its target of £100m in revenue, the firm said its underlying business had proved “resilient” in the face of the pandemic.
Shares in the firm slipped 4.9 per cent this morning.
The figures
Ince Group, formerly Gordon Dadds LLP, saw revenue rise to £98.5m this year, nearly double the £52.6m it booked last year.
Operating profit also jumped 72 per cent, rising to £26.2m from £15.2m in 2019, while adjusted profit came in at £8m.
Earnings per share slipped back 21 per cent from 18.8p to 14.9p, which Ince said was due to a 12m placing in January.
Back in March, the firm cancelled its dividend for 2020 due to the disruption caused by the current pandemic.
Likewise, Ince said that the uncertainty regarding economic recovery meant it was too early to provide any guidance for this year’s financial performance.
Why it’s interesting
This year’s results were the first set to cover the whole business for a full financial year, after the acquisition of shipping firm Ince & Co at the end of 2018.
At the time of its listing in 2017, Gordon Dadds was just the second UK law firm to list in a bid to counter the threat of incoming US law firms and the growth of the accountancy firms in the legal sector.
The addition of Ince & Co, which had long been languishing in the doldrums, was the first step in consolidating the business.
In a statement, Ince said: “Our strategy continues to be to grow revenue profitably through adding high performing partners to a single efficient administration operation.
“We do this by recruiting high quality personnel, developing new business streams, acquiring complementary businesses and forging strategic alliances.”
What Ince said
Group chief executive Adrian Biles said: “We can justifiably claim that this has been a year of great progress.
“While we narrowly missed our £100m revenue target, the fact that these results were achieved despite the disruption caused by Covid-19 shows the quality of the business we are building.
“This is the first announcement to include the whole of Ince for a full year. The power of the Ince brand continues to win clients and attract talent.