Legal services drive Fairpoint revenues to £28.3m

LANCASHIRE-based consumer professional services company Fairpoint Group is continuing to profit from its transition to the legal sector from its prior specialism of debt management plans, which it says have become an unsustainable business model because of regulation.

Revenue for the listing Adlington company for the six months to June 30 grew 24% to £28.3m (H12015: £22.9m) with legal services bringing in £21.5m (H1 2015: £11.3m).

This has been helped by the organic growth of one of its recent acquisitions – law firm Simpson Millar.

In line with the overall strategy of the company, debt solutions income fell to £6.9m (H1 2015: £11.6m).

Menawhile, adjusted pretax profit was largely flat at £4m (H1 2015 £4.1m).

Chief executive Chris Moat said the migration from debt management plans was on course with 90% of Fairpoint’s growth coming through its fast-growing legal services.

Apart from Simpson Millar, acquisitions of law firms Abney Garsden and Colemans in June 2016 and August 2015, respectively, have helped drive the growth.

“These elements are now powering through activity as the activity has been integrating them and getting the business on to a single operating platform,” Moat told TheBusinessDesk.

“We’re trying to put a bit more of process into the way we do legal services so we can drive the cost to consumers down. Consumers know they need legal services but don’t know where to go to get them.

“They worry about the escalating costs after talking to a lawyer. If you want product A, however, and you know what it’s going to cost, that’s a much more attractive proposition.”

The Decision to exit the debt management plan  market due to regulatory changes impacting the whole sector was announced on July
 
“Regulatory changes are rendering the commercial DMP business model unsustainable,” the company said.