Saralis: Perceived stigma around making a claim
There is a “significant latent demand” for a law firm that can “unlock” personal injury (PI) claims that people are not bringing, listed business NAHL Group said yesterday as it unveiled positive results for 2025.
NAHL reported revenue up 3.2% to £40m and underlying profit before tax more than trebled from £1.4m to £5m – but said working capital was an issue for growing its law firm, National Accident Law (NAL).
Its statutory profit before tax was £4.4m, compared to a loss in 2024 of £39m, which was due to NAHL writing off the entire £39m of goodwill [1] that was in its accounts.
The group continued its steady reduction in net debt, from a high of £21m in 2019 to £7.1m at the end of 2024 and £3.2m last year.
NAHL is made up predominantly of NAL, lead generator National Accident Helpline and its law firm panel, Law Together – a joint venture alternative business structure with HCC Solicitors – and critical care division Bush & Co.
The latter is responsible for about 40% of the income but it delivered “a flat performance” in 2025 following the board’s review into the future ownership of the business, “which caused inevitable distraction for the management team”. A sale of Bush & Co was shelved last summer.
Chief executive James Saralis reminded investors of research NAHL commissioned in 2024 indicating that at least £1.6bn of PI settlements were unclaimed in 2023 because of accident victims’ reluctance to make a claim, while research last year from the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers stated that one in five people had been injured or suffered illness due to someone else’s negligence, but that 41% of them had not made a claim.
“We believe this is due to a lack of understanding of the claims process; a reduction in levels of personal injury related marketing since the Covid-19 pandemic; and the perceived stigma associated with making a claim in the UK,” he said.
“This research leads us to believe that there is a significant latent demand for a law firm that can unlock these claims by stimulating the market, educating accident victims on their rights and changing the perception of claiming.”
National Accident Helpline generated 13,389 PI enquiries in the year, 32% fewer than a year earlier, which was due to lower demand from its panel of third-party law firms and “prudent working capital management” for NAL.
This meant 27% fewer new enquiries were placed with NAL (4,276 in all) – although as a percentage of all new enquiries generated by the group, its share went up a little to 32%.
Law Together grew revenues by 18% to £4.6m and took on 3,329 of the new enquiries.
Group chair Tim Aspinall told investors: “Whilst NAL is now a proven claims engine, effectively and efficiently converting enquiries into cash, the number of claims we are processing is shrinking as we continue to settle more claims than we add.
“To grow NAL, we would need to increase investment in working capital. This is something the board is currently reviewing in conjunction with alternative options to accelerate value for shareholders.”
Mr Aspinall acknowledged the need for these given the frustration of both the board and shareholders at the “disconnect” between the group’s successes and its valuation. The board also decided again not to issue a dividend.
Our annual review of listed legal businesses [2] showed that NAHL had a bad year in 2025, with its share price halving from 72p to 35p. They were up 16% to 39.5p yesterday.
The first quarter of 2026 has seen the group generate 13% more enquiries than a year earlier, although the average cost per enquiry – which NAHL managed to get under control last year after a spike in 2024 – began to rise again.
NAHL employed 261 people at 31 December 2025, 18 fewer than a year earlier.