Gateley announces strong growth despite pandemic
Legal and professional services group Gateley has announced its audited preliminary results for the year ending 30 April 2021, reporting strong financial performance with a 10.5% increase in both revenue and profit before tax, compared to its previous financial year. “I am delighted with the excellent financial year of 2021 outcome, a year in which we exceeded our own pandemic-adjusted performance expectations set in the first month of the year,” said Rod Waldie, CEO of Gateley.
Gateley’s financial and operational achievements in 2021
Gateley’s non-legal revenues increased by 27.3% in 2021, as complementary consultancy businesses contributed £14m or 11.5% of total revenues. The overall activity of the group went up by 8% with a 9.1% rise in fee-earners headcount. At the same time, the company managed to reduce its operational costs due to successful remote working arrangements. A strong balance sheet and disciplined working capital management also facilitated the repayment of all bank debt. As a result of these, the company announced that staff bonuses and dividend payments resumed this year.
Diversified business model and strong staff retention fuel growth
Waldie credits the employees of Gateley and their “exceptionally hard work, commitment and can-do attitude” for the remarkable growth of the company during 2021. “This includes the leadership team, whose priority has been the safety of our people throughout the year and the smooth-running of our operational contingency plan, which resulted in the delivery of excellent service to our clients. The leadership team was calm and pragmatic throughout and demonstrated good judgment in planning for the worst while managing for better,” said Waldie. The 'one-team' culture of the company and the retention of fee-earning professionals in the early stages of the pandemic enabled Gateley to capitalise on the return of strong client demand in the second half of this financial year. Waldie also thanked the company's clients for their support throughout the year. Gateley’s board of directors expressed confidence in the future performance of the company due to its diversified and resilient business model.
The legal group continues momentum as it announced strong trading in the first two months of the new financial year and recommenced acquisition activity after temporary Covid-19 pause. "As we continue our strategy to build a broader professional services business, focusing on both new and existing clients, the demand for these services is strong and we are carrying a robust pipeline of work into FY22. We remain excited by a wide range of opportunities and are looking forward to continuing to grow the Group, both organically and via acquisition", added Waldie.
