Napthens reports record growth in profitability

Regional law firm Napthens has revealed the business has seen record success over the last 12 months including an 8 per cent growth in new instructions.

Shru Morris, chief executive of Napthens, which operates offices in Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside, said the results were the culmination of a successful three years of growth.

The firm is optimistic that this growth will mean further expansion, with plans to grow its presence in both Cumbria and Liverpool – where it recently opened its first office.

Other results for the last 12 months include a 4 per cent growth in fees, and a 35 per cent increase in profitability, with a £1.2m reduction in bank debt.

Shru said: “We’ve focused on having the right people in the business, driven to deliver great client service. The improvement in the firm’s financial position provides a strong base for further investment in improvements to our services, training and development of our people and in IT solutions, as well as in growing our business through expansion.

“Following our success in Cumbria we hope to increase our presence there soon. It’s a similar situation in Liverpool where the next step will be to maximize growth in that region by bringing in additional specialisms including employment and corporate law. And as our core client base in Lancashire continues to grow, we are planning further recruitment into our specialist services.

“We’ve focused on quality work by delivering solutions to our clients that ultimately drives performance throughout the firm – if our clients are successful, we are successful.

“The strategic investments in our people and business over the last few years are paying dividends. The confidence we and our clients have in Napthens, is reflected in some fantastic work this year.”

Shru highlighted the work of the Corporate, Employment and property teams as amongst those performing particularly well. With the Corporate team in the Top 10 for North West M&A activity volume this year, in recent months the team has advised on a high-profile acquisition by transport specialists CMAC, and a six-figure funding package for eOrigen Learning and Communications

Shru added: “The Real Estate team recently announced £160m value of transactions over the year. We’ve also seen an incredible 37 per cent growth in residential conveyancing matters due to growing the existing work plus attracting new clients by focusing on excellent service delivery. “Commercial contract work is a growth area for us and we intend to further invest in this specialism. Our Employment & HR team is a real success story and continues to provide fantastic support to our clients based on our ‘client for life’ concept.”