Gateley sees FY revenue up 18.5% after strong first half

Law-led professional services group Gateley said on Friday that full-year revenue is expected to rise at least 18.5%, as it highlighted a "strong" performance in the first half.

In an update for the six months to the end of October, the company said revenue is expected to be up at least 20% on the same period a year ago to £46.4m following the successful execution of its organic and acquisitive growth strategy. Revenue growth attributable to the acquisitions of GCL Solicitors and Kiddy & Partners announced in May and July, accounted for around half of the increase.

Gateley said current activity levels remain encouraging despite political and economic uncertainty and the board has continued to invest for the future with total staff numbers rising from 791 as at 30 April to 928 at the end of October.

Acquisitions of complementary non-legal businesses remain a core part of the growth strategy to enhance its service lines and cross sell to a widening group of its clients and Gateley said it was "delighted" with the contributions all four post IPO acquisitions have made to date.

The company said it now expects to generate revenues of not less than £102m for the year ending 30 April 2019, up from £86.1m the year before, with an EBITDA margin comparable to the previous year.

Chief executive officer Michael Ward said: "Our strong financial performance continues to enable the Board to invest in the future of the group. It's been a busy six months, including the acquisitions of GCL Solicitors and Kiddy & Partners, in a sector showing opportunities for further strategic consolidation.

These acquisitions, together with our strong underlying organic growth, demonstrate the increasing momentum across our business and the successful execution of our focused strategy. Client service remains at the centre of our ethos and I continue to be impressed with the dedication and skill sets of all our staff as we continue to deliver on our stakeholder promises."

At 0945 GMT, the shares were up 1.4% to 151.10p.