Irwin Mitchell surpasses £300m as DWF expands private equity acquisition, up 14%

Irwin Mitchell passed the £300m mark for the first time, with revenues rising by 10% thanks to a series of acquisitions and expansions.

The company reported record revenues of £304.3m in the year to 30 April, up from £276m the previous year. Group profits before tax also rose significantly to £21.7m, up 45% from £15m the previous year.

Craig Marshall, Group CEO (in the photo)commented on the results: “Despite a year of significant change, we have demonstrated remarkable resilience and delivered solid results.”

The UK firm has made several strategic investments over the past year, including opening a new office in Brighton, acquiring Silk Family Law in the North East of England and investing in Wright Johnston & Mackenzie in Scotland. These acquisitions contributed £4.1m to group revenues in the second half of the financial year.

The company has also expanded its staff, including hiring a regulatory team from the defunct Ince & Co., led by new national head of regulatory affairs Philip Somarakis and criminal and regulatory affairs specialist Colette Kelly.

Irwin Mitchell is also pursuing a Net Zero 2040 commitment, with plans to run all of its offices on renewable electricity by 2025 and to halve the organisation’s total environmental impact (carbon footprint) by 2030.

Marshall, who was appointed group CEO in September last year following the death of former CEO Andrew Tucker, expressed optimism about the firm’s prospects for the next financial year, stating: “We have refreshed our strategy following our annual review and will look to build on our strengths, including our market leading position in complex personal injury; increasing our market share in consumer legal services; financial planning and investment management through IM Asset Management. We will continue to build close, supportive relationships with our business clients to become the firm of choice for mid-market businesses.”

“We have a strong balance sheet and are entering the new year with a positive outlook, focused on becoming a more agile and dynamic company in the future, delivering sustainable and profitable growth,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, DWF has also reported double-digit growth this year, with revenues up 14% from £380m to £435m.

Chief Executive Sir Nigel Knowles commented: “Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, we have achieved consistent, profitable growth, which is a testament to the exceptional service our colleagues provide and the trust our customers have in them.”

The company’s Insurance Services business led the growth with a 24% increase, supported by the successful integration of Whitelaw Twining in Canada. The Legal and Commercial Services business grew 8% organically, despite a challenging transactional market.

The firm has secured more than 30 appointments or re-appointments to its legal committees this year, including roles for high-profile clients such as BT and Tesco.

The results were announced after the company was delisted from the London Stock Exchange last year following a takeover by private equity firm Inflexion.

Knowles said: “This past financial year was marked by the completion of our take-private transaction with Inflexion. At the time, we said that Inflexion’s investment would help us accelerate our strategic goals and we are already seeing that happen.”

DWF has announced its first M&A deal since investing in Inflexion, with plans to acquire Australian claims management company Proclaim.

Looking ahead, Knowles concluded: “I am pleased with the start to the new financial year we have made for our group and we look forward to continuing our expansion-focused corporate activities in 2024.”