National legal and professional services business, Knights, has published a financial update that shows a strong increase in revenue, profit and the number of senior professionals joining the business.
Knights anticipates revenue for the year to 30 April 2025 to be c.£162.0m, an 8% increase on the prior year (FY24: £150.0m), with underlying profit before tax expected to be c.£28.0m (FY24: £25.3m), representing an 11% increase in underlying profits and reflecting an improved margin.
The increase in revenue and profit coincides with a significant increase in the number of senior professionals that joined the business. In total, 52 senior fee-earners joined nationwide – up from 40 in the previous year – proving the appeal of Knights' national scale, strong reputation and uniquely collaborative culture to high-calibre professionals across the UK regions.
During the year, Knights continued to execute its acquisition strategy. The acquisition of Thursfields, which completed in September, bolstered the Group's position as a leading legal and professional services business in the Midlands. The completion of its largest acquisition to date in April, IBB Law, saw Knights significantly strengthening its presence in the South East of England.
This is set to continue in the coming year, with the acquisition of Birkett Long set to complete in June. This will give Knights a presence in Basildon, Chelmsford and Colchester, and brings both legal and wealth advisory services under one roof as Birkett Long IFA LLP will also join Knights.
David Beech, CEO of Knights, said:
"During the year, Knights has made significant progress. It is now recognised as the UK's only legal services business with true national scale, that retains a strong regional focus. I am particularly pleased
with the uptick in fee earners joining the business during the year.
“As well as our scale, the reputation we have built for quality of service and a unique culture, allows us to recruit the highest quality talent to the business, which in turn, has driven this strong performance.
“With the Group experiencing a return to lower levels of churn in the second half of the financial year and positive momentum in the business continuing into the current year, we remain confident in delivering further growth in FY26.”
Alongside the increase in revenue and profit, Knights continues to show excellent working capital discipline, with debtor days as at 30 April 2025 of 31 (FY24: 28 days) supporting the Group's strong balance sheet position at the year end. Net debt is expected to be c.£65m, (FY24: £35.2m) after £30m cash paid in relation to acquisitions.
The expected profit of £28m is after deduction of share-based payment charges of c.£0.5m relating to a new one-off executive share scheme introduced in November 2024.
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