Personal injury specialist law firm returns to profit

A three-year programme to reshape Wakefield-based Minster Law has secured its long-term profitable future and serves as a catalyst for further growth in serious injury, according to CEO Shirley Woolham.

Minster Law has reported a pre-tax profit of £503,000 (2023: £4.7m loss), as well as its turnover growing last year by 15% to £36.7m (2023: £31.8m), despite a significant income reduction in volume personal injury claims following sweeping reforms to the personal injury (PI) market in 2021.

Woolham said PI reforms in 2021 brought about a total rethink of Minster’s business and operating model, but created an opportunity to “build a more resilient, forward-thinking law firm capable of flourishing in a challenging PI market.”

She added: “Doing volume PI the same as it used to be done was just not an option, with income per case dropping through the floor.

“We realised early that to focus only on the pursuit of volume was not a strategy capable of creating a profitable business.

“Instead, we had to think like a start-up, challenge everything and be prepared drive transformational changes to find new ways to achieve sustainable growth.

“Over the last three years we have had to radically review our cost to income ratio, re-engineered our processes, changed our internal structures, introduced new skills, capabilities and technology and re-think how we create value – for our clients and our shareholders.

“In doing so, we’ve created a model capable of supporting sustainable growth and the result is a £5m swing into profit during the past 12 months, and the delivery of £2.5m EBITDA for 23/24 excluding exceptionals in a very tough market.”

She said she expected the 2023/24 result to mark the beginning of prolonged period of growth for the firm.

“We’ve had a strong start to our new financial year, having already outperformed our Q1 plan and, with further initiatives in the pipeline, I’m confident of improving further on our 23/24 results,” she said.

Minster has continued to invest in technology and delivering innovation, including a new low code/no code case platform, that has streamlined claims registration and improved the client experience.

There has also been further investment made in a multi-channel comms platform and digital self-service through INK, Minster’s proprietary claims portal.

Minster Law has grown its road traffic accident serious injury practice, with case volume up by 50% from two years ago.

It is pursuing further expansion of its serious injury division, both organically and through acquisition.

Woolham said: “Minster is committed to broadening its reach and enhancing its capacity to support clients with the most complex and life-changing injuries.

“With new partnerships in serious injury set to be announced soon, we are focused on extending our network to bring unparalleled expertise and support to even more clients in need.

“We have invested in the right people, technology, and infrastructure to deliver consistently high-quality service, and we’re backed by robust capital reserves that allow us to take on significant, long-term injury cases with confidence.”