The UK arm of law firm Slater and Gordon shed 150 jobs as it returned to profit during its latest financial year, it has been revealed.
The Manchester-headquartered business, which since April 2023 has been owned by private equity firm Allegro Funds, has reported a pre-tax profit of £5.9m for 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House.
The profit comes after the firm fell to a pre-tax loss of £2.9m in the prior 12 months.
The new accounts for Slater and Gordon, which has its group headquarters in Australia, also show its UK headcount fell in the year from 1,038 to 888.
The firm’s return to the black comes as its revenue fell in 2024 from £78.1m to £72.6m.
Slater and Gordon said it saw “significant progress” in the year and that while its revenue fell its operating profit jumped “reflecting our ongoing strategy of repositioning the business to focus on higher value, more complex legal services and investing in group actions”.
In the year before making a pre-tax loss, the firm posted a pre-tax profit of £14.4m.
Slater and Gordon banking on new strategy
The results come after the company raised £30m in new equity in May this year from its existing shareholders.
A statement signed off by the board said: “During 2024 we continued to focus on our strategy of providing legal services to consumers that require more involved legal input and expertise, as part of our commitment to being a leading consumer law firm, providing access to justice to those in need of representation.
“As part of this strategy we are investing in our capabilities to bring larger scale representation for individuals and consumers with common or related issues in the form of group action orders or equivalent.”
Slater and Gordon has UK offices in Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Knutsford, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and on the Wirral.