PI firm bucking market gloom with plans to double in size

A personal injury firm appears to be bucking the industry trend by expanding rapidly through new offices and potential acquisitions
Express Solicitors plans to consolidate its four offices by moving a mile from its long-standing base in south Manchester to a 40,000 sq ft building.

The new space gives the firm room to grow towards 1,000 staff as it doubles existing floor space. In August 2021, Express Solicitors reported its headcount was around 350, but since then it has acquired the Merseyside firm Michael W Halsall in a deal agreed last November.

Managing partner James Maxey said the ambition is to grow the business into the biggest personal injury practice at a time when much of the sector is shrinking and other firms are leaving altogether.

Maxey said: ‘It is wonderful to see our firm expand to the point where we require offices of this magnitude. We are pleased to be on track with our growth plans aided by the continued support of RBS, our long-term banking partner.

‘We will continue to recruit people from the local south Manchester area at all levels in the organisation and are always look for growth opportunities in terms of acquiring caseloads and competitors. We are in a very strong position and have the funds available to further increase our marketing spend.’

The firm’s accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021 show that profit before taxation fell 20% to £2.95m despite turnover increasing 17% to £27m. It filed its latest accounts for the year ended 31 August 2022 at the end of last year and reported that group turnover was up by a further 12.5% to £30.4m. No profit figure has been released for the most recent financial year.

Caseloads have now increased from 13,900 in 2020 to 19,000 in 2021 and now to 22,000.

Maxey said the group’s aim is to reach £60m turnover within five years and it plans to spend £12m over that period on digital and traditional marketing.

The firm has benefitted from lower overheads than those of city centre firms and has increased efficiency through integration with new client services and digital document handling. It has a defined supervision structure with regular reporting and mandatory sign-offs to ensure claims are progressing properly.