Gateley, the acquisitive legal and professional services group with offices in Nottingham and Leicester, has reported “strong growth in profitability” despite a slip in revenue in its unaudited results for the six months ended 31 October 2020.
Profit after tax grew 8.6% to £4.8m, up from £4.4m in the same period of the year prior. Revenue meanwhile declined by 2.6% to £50.5m.
Gateley highlighted a sharp reduction in activity levels during the early months of the period, but noted that this has been mitigated by a continuing upward trend, with activity levels now within 2% of the prior year.
The company said that trading in the second half “has maintained momentum despite macro-economic uncertainty resulting from the ongoing pandemic.”
Rod Waldie, Chief Executive Officer of Gateley, said: “I am delighted with the Group’s excellent operational and financial performance during H1 21. The wellbeing of all our people remains our priority. In the meantime, despite the personal challenges of working through the pandemic, our loyal and dedicated teams continue to serve our clients to the highest standard. This affirms the strength of Gateley’s “one team” culture and the adaptation of our systems to ensure the delivery of an excellent service to our clients.
“Gateley’s business model and its mix of service lines, which has been supplemented by our successful M&A strategy, was deliberately designed to provide resilience, the value of which is demonstrated in the Group’s H1 21 performance.
“Our Platform Strategy is developing across the Group. Legal and consultancy businesses are working closely together to attract new work, in a manner that differentiates Gateley and which is becoming increasingly attractive to clients. The acquisition pipeline is positive. Our strategy remains to continue to acquire complementary legal and consultancy services, to expand our diversified business and to reach deeper into our chosen markets, further enhancing the Group’s resilience.
“The FY 21 revenue pipeline is robust and this, combined with the many operational efficiencies that we have so far realised in the current year, means I am confident that, despite general uncertainty arising from the pandemic, the Group is positioned well to deliver a strong performance for the remainder of the financial year.”