REG - Knights Group Hldgs - Trading Update

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RNS Number : 4281I  Knights Group Holdings PLC  21 November 2025

Knights Group Holdings plc

("Knights", the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading update for the six months ended 31 October 2025

Strong first half performance with a return to organic growth

Knights, the national legal and professional services business, today provides
a trading update for the six months ended 31 October 2025.

The Group is expected to deliver a 30% increase in revenue from continuing
operations(4) to £103.2m (H1 FY25: £79.4m) and a return to organic growth,
of c.3%, in the first half.  This strong performance is expected to result in
a 12% increase in underlying PBT(1) from continuing operations(4) to £16.4m
(H1 FY25: £14.6m). Group underlying PBT margin, at 16% (H1 FY25: 18%) is
broadly in line with our internal forecasts as we absorbed higher payroll
taxes as anticipated and continued to invest in AI and technology.

Reduced debtor days(2) of 32 as at 31 October 2025 (H1 FY25: 33 days)
demonstrated the Group's continued working capital discipline and success in
reducing typically higher lock up in acquired businesses. Net debt(3) is
expected to be £75.2m, (at 30 April 2025: £64.8m) after c.£15m cash paid in
relation to acquisitions and capex of c.£3.5m, reflecting strong underlying
cash conversion.

The Group has signed an extension with HSBC UK, AIB (GB) and NatWest to extend
its current revolving credit facility of £100m for an additional year (on the
same terms) until November 2028.

The business has continued to scale up, having added substantial teams in the
West Midlands, the Thames Valley, the South East, and a smaller team in
Cardiff, through acquisitions all of which are performing in line with
expectations and integrating well.

Knights' reputation, collaborative culture, corporate model and growing
network of offices continued to attract high calibre talent with 46 senior fee
earners joining in the first half or due to start shortly (H1 FY25: 43).
Importantly, annualised churn has remained low, in line with the step down in
the second half of FY25 driven by engagement initiatives across the business.

David Beech, CEO of Knights, commented:

"The Group has delivered a strong first half performance, with 30% revenue
growth including a return to organic growth.  We have continued to scale up
the business and have successfully integrated recent acquisitions whilst
retaining our strong financial discipline across the business reflected in our
strong cash generation.

"We expect the second half to benefit from recent hires and a full period
contribution from the recent acquisitions, underpinning our confidence in
delivering a full year performance in line with market expectations.

"Having put in place an extended operational management structure, we are
confident we have the right team to drive the business forward and leverage
our strengthened platform as we continue to drive growth beyond the current
financial year."

Knights will provide further detail as part of its half year results
announcement on 12 January 2026.

Ends

Footnotes

(1 )Underlying PBT excludes amortisation of acquired intangibles,
non-underlying operating expenses, and non-underlying finance costs.
Non-underlying operating expenses include transaction and onerous lease
expenses, contingent acquisition payments, disposal of acquired assets, along
with one-off restructuring and professional expenses, mainly incurred on
acquisitions, through streamlining support functions or strategic
reorganisations

(2 )Debtor days are calculated on a count back basis using the gross debtors
at the period end and compared with total fees raised over prior months.
Debtor days excludes the impact of acquisitions in the last quarter of the
reporting period.

(3 )Net debt includes cash and cash equivalents, borrowings and acquired debt
but excludes lease liabilities.

(4 )Continuing underlying performance excludes the Crime business which was
acquired with IBB Law (completed on 4 April 2025). This business was non-core,
as stated at the time of the acquisition, and we completed its sale on 18 July
2025.  The business generated revenue of £0.2m and a loss before tax of
£0.4m in the period.

 Knights
 David Beech, CEO                   Via MHP Group
 Deutsche Numis (Nomad and Broker)
 Stuart Skinner, Kevin Cruickshank  020 7260 1000
 MHP Group (Media enquiries)
 Katie Hunt, Eleni Menikou          07884 494112

knights@mhpgroup.com

Notes to Editors

Knights is a fast-growing legal and professional services business, ranked
within the UK's top 50 largest law firms by revenue. Knights was one of the
first law firms in the UK to move from the traditional partnership model to a
corporate structure in 2012 and has since grown rapidly. Knights has
specialists in all key areas of Corporate and Commercial law and Private
Wealth services. It is focussed on key UK markets outside London and currently
operates from 32 offices located in Ascot, Basildon, Beaconsfield, Birmingham,
Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chester,
Colchester, Exeter, Kings Hill, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Manchester,
Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield, Solihull,
Stoke, Teesside, Uxbridge, Weybridge, Wilmslow, Worcester and York.

 

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