DWF achieves 14% revenue growth

DWF, the global provider of integrated legal and business services, has announced its financial results for the year ending 30 April 2024. Highlights include:

• Net revenue increased by 14%, from £380m to £435m
• All three divisions achieved increases in net revenue

Sir Nigel Knowles, Chief Executive Officer of DWF, said: “This is an excellent performance for our business and provides further evidence that our integrated legal management approach is helping us win with our clients. We have achieved continued profitable growth despite macroeconomic uncertainty, which is testament to the exceptional service our colleagues provide, and the trust placed in them by our clients.”

Other group highlights this year:

• Insurance Services saw the fastest growth at 24%, driven in part by the successful addition of Whitelaw Twining in Canada. Commercial Services grew by 8% organically, despite a challenging transactional market, while Legal Operations also grew by 8%.
• DWF secured more than 30 legal panel appointments or reappointments including with BT, Tesco, Aspen Insurance and Cadent Gas Limited.
• Our Net Promoter Score, an industry benchmark of how likely our clients are to recommend us to others, increased from +62 to +67.
• We promoted 33 colleagues to partner, or to a higher career level within our partnership structure. In total, more than 220 colleagues were promoted across the business in our January promotions.
• In addition to our internal promotions, we made a further 25 lateral hires at partner level.

Knowles added: “This past financial year was marked by the completion of our take-private transaction with Inflexion. At the time, we said that Inflexion’s investment would help us to go faster in the pursuit of our strategic goals and we are already seeing that come true. In recent weeks we announced our first M&A transaction since the Inflexion investment with the intended acquisition of leading Australian claims management business, Proclaim. This transaction will scale our global Claims Management and Adjusting team to 320 colleagues across nine jurisdictions, and further demonstrates our commitment to expanding our footprint in key global markets. We have also kicked off the next stage of our digital transformation programme with a significant investment programme which includes the roll out of AI tool, Microsoft Copilot, to all of our colleagues globally. I am encouraged by the start the group has made to the new financial year and we anticipate further expansion-driven corporate activity in 2024.”

Joel Heap, managing partner of DWF in Manchester, said: “In my new role as managing partner, I am incredibly proud to have witnessed the remarkable success and growth that our people in Manchester have achieved during the last financial year.

“In January, we announced 32 promotions in Manchester which stands as a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone within our team here. Furthermore, welcoming new partners such as Ian Sydenham in our Private Capital team and David Wynn in our Insurance team has further strengthened our expertise and commitment to delivering exceptional service to our clients. We also recently welcomed back former colleague Chris Gee as a dispute resolution partner and appointed Michelle Headrige as Head of Envrironment which highlights our continuous effort to expand and enhance our capabilities. As we look to the future of the business, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, to build on our success, and further strengthen our presence within the Manchester legal market.”

Julie Simms, managing partner of DWF in Liverpool, added: “Our Liverpool team has exhibited exceptional dedication and expertise and we have seen remarkable growth across various sectors this year. We have successfully managed numerous high-profile engagements and bolstered our team with the addition of several talented professionals, including insurance partner Jim Bryant. Additionally, 30 people in Liverpool achieved deserving promotions in Liverpool this year. I am confident that we will continue to build on this momentum, nurturing diverse talent, delivering outstanding results and creating new opportunities for growth and success.”