Housing Disrepair operation provides foundations for further Anexo growth
Anexo Group, the Liverpool-based specialist integrated credit hire and legal services provider with offices in Bolton and Leeds, reported improved annual figures today.
Revenues in the year to December 31, 2022, rose 17% to £138.329m and pre-tax profits of £24.093m represented a 1.5% increase on the previous year.
The group, which launched a class action against luxury motor group, Mercedes Benz, last month, saw net debt rise 17.9% to £73.124m. The 1.5p per share total dividend is maintained.
The Credit Hire division, EDGE, saw prudent management during the year to maximise efficient use of the existing fleet and to manage overall fleet numbers to reflect revised expectations.
It ended the year with a total of 1,730 vehicles on the road, a decrease of 26.9% on the previous year, new cases funded fell from 10,265 in 2021 to 9,986 in 2022, while the number of hire cases settled increased by 28% from 6,187 in 2021 to 7,922 in 2022, supporting an increase in cash collections.
Revenues in the division grew by 4.8% % to £74.7m.
The group’s Legal Services division, Bond Turner, has continued its focus on cash collections and corresponding investment in staff to drive increased case settlements. Revenues increased by 35.6% to £63.6m. The continued growth of the Bolton office, which has now been operational for four years, the opening of the Leeds office and the expansion of the core office in Liverpool into new ancillary premises, have provided considerable opportunities for recruitment.
During the pandemic, and following the implementation of the Civil Liabilities Act 2021, the group has seen a number of personal injury solicitors withdrawing from the market. Taking advantage of these recruitment opportunities has resulted in staff numbers rising at all levels, with the ability to retrain solicitors in the fields of credit hire and housing disrepair. At the end of December staff numbers in Bond Turner stood at 678, a 6.9% increase on the 2021 figure.
The group said it has now begun actively sourcing claims against Mercedes Benz. Anexo revealed that, in total, it invested £4m in 2022, compared with £900,000 in 2021, in both staffing and emission claims lead generation fees.
The Housing Disrepair team has continued its rapid expansion during 2022. During the year it successfully settled around 2,000 claims. At the end of the year Anexo had a portfolio of more than 3,000 ongoing claims. Some £3m was invested in marketing costs in 2022, all of which was expensed as incurred, and with further investment planned into 2023, it said the Housing Disrepair team has proven its potential to be a significant contributor to group earnings.
Executive chairman, Alan Sellers, said: “I am pleased to report a solid performance for FY2022. Revenues for the group have continued to grow across all divisions.
“As always, we have managed our vehicle numbers carefully and funded those cases which we feel offer the best opportunities for utilising working capital most efficiently. The success of this strategy is reflected in the growth in cash collections driven by the continued investment in high quality staff across our three legal services offices.”
He added: “We continue to be excited by the opportunities within Housing Disrepair, which has more than doubled its case portfolio during the year, as well as fresh activity on emissions claims. A focus on prudent case management will enable the group to concentrate on cash generation and a reduction in overall debt during FY2023.”
