Wakefield-based Minster Law is considering acquisitions after tough year

The Wakefield-based firm reported that its turnover for 2018 was £35.1m, which is below the £36.0m recorded the previous year.

The company’s CEO Shirley Woolham said the result was a “tremendous achievement in tough trading conditions, and creates a platform for a further step-change in performance as we prepare for the 2020s”.

She said: “Improving operational efficiency and scalability was a key achievement last year and is a direct result of our investment in IT automation and digital claims.

“This has been a top priority as we prepare for the post-reform world in personal injury, where margins will be thinner and most volume claims will be processed online.

“Any business in our sector that has not borne down hard on its fixed costs faces a bleak future,” she said. “Our results are also supported by a 21 per cent reduction in administration costs, driven mainly by our consolidation into a single HQ in Wakefield.

“These results enable us to continue to press ahead with our plans to create a broader legal services business to meet the needs of insurers and brokers in the 2020s.”

She said that might include acquisitions, which make long-term strategic sense.

She added: “We are keen to talk to other market players who share our values and sense of ambition.”