Listed legal business NAHL reduces net debt by over £3m
Listed business NAHL, which focuses on the consumer legal services market, saw its revenue increase by two per cent over the last financial year to £42.2m.
The group’s profit before tax went up by 14 per cent to £0.65m, from £0.57m while its operating profit dropped by 13 per cent to £4.1m (down from £4.8m).
The group stated this was against a backdrop of higher costs but in line with its strategy to invest more for higher profitability in the medium term.
NAHL reported that its net debt dropped over the last financial year by 27 per cent to £9.7m, down from its 2022 debt of £13.3m.
The group’s fully integrated law firm, National Accident Law (NAL), collected £6m of cash from settlements, which was 73 per cent higher than the prior year (2022: £3.5m). The group said it is focused on growing the value of personal injury enquiries placed into NAL to grow a more profitable and sustainable business.
NAHL said its disposal of non-core Homeward Legal in April 2023 successfully removed a drag on growth and allowed management to refocus on their strategic priorities. Homeward Legal focuses on online marketing to target home buyers and sellers in England and Wales.
On the current results year, the group successfully extended its banking facility with Clydesdale Bank/Virgin Money, reducing the £20m RCF (which was due to expire on 31 December 2024) to a £15m facility, which runs to 31 December 2025.
Commenting on the results, James Saralis, CEO of NAHL said: “I am pleased with the solid financial performance that the group delivered in 2023 and am encouraged that we continued to outperform the market in both Consumer Legal Services and Critical Care while further reducing net debt and building a more sustainable business.”
“We demonstrated further improvements in our Personal injury business, which was again profitable and cash generative, and delivered double digit growth in Critical Care. These strong results position us well to maintain our growth and realise the step-change that we have been working towards as our own fully integrated law firm, NAL, matures,” he added.
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