Cox: Right structure in place
Private equity owned law firm Simpson Millar has claimed it is now on the right track despite its 2021 accounts revealing a loss of £7.8m, taking losses to £28m since Doorway Capital took control.
The national practice was acquired by Doorway following the collapse of its then parent company, Fairpoint, in 2017.
The 2021 loss follows losses of £8.1m, £5.7m and £6.3m in the preceding three years, although turnover rose from £19.8m in 2018 to £30.1m in 2020 – attributable in part to the acquisition of Liverpool firm EAD Solicitors in 2018. It dipped slightly to £29.9m in 2021.
Back in 2018, Simpson Millar trumpeted a five-year, £50m growth strategy, having gone through a 20% reduction in headcount in previous months.
Last August, the firm announced another shake-up by closing its conveyancing, dispute resolution, employment, and wills, trust and probate practices, with around 100 staff affected, as it moved to focus on personal injury, public law and family law.
A statement on the 2021 accounts pointed out that they covered a period that pre-dated this restructuring.
“Since those changes were announced Simpson Millar has invested heavily in rolling out a transformation programme that will allow it to capitalise on the opportunities in the consumer legal market in its core practice areas.”
Chief executive Greg Cox added that, “with the continued support of our investors, we firmly believe that we can really challenge the legal market and the way that legal services are offered to clients”.
He continued: “Consumer needs and expectations have changed, particularly in personal injury cases, and our investment in our transformation programme means we now have the right structure and the right teams in place to respond to that.
“Our colleagues are integral to the ongoing success of the business, and we remain committed to the future development of teams across the firm.”
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