Sale of Homeward Legal

RNS Number : 2981X

NAHL Group PLC

25 April 2023

 

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Group to constitute inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations (SI 2019/310). With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

25 April 2023

NAHL Group PLC

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

Sale of Homeward Legal

NAHL (AIM: NAH), a leading marketing and services business focused on the UK consumer legal market, is pleased to announce the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Homeward Legal Limited ("Homeward Legal"). Homeward Legal utilises online marketing to target homebuyers and sellers in England and Wales to generate leads and instructions which it then passes to panel law firms and surveyors in the conveyancing sector for a fixed cost.  The subsidiary, which has 6 employees and has been a part of NAHL since 2015, is considered non-core to the Group's principal focus in Consumer Legal Services and Critical Care and its sale will allow the Group to further focus on its key growth areas.

The consideration for the sale of Homeward Legal is to be the equivalent of the net asset value of Homeward Legal on completion, which is subject to final determination but is expected to be around £150,000.  Approximately £30,000 of this will be payable in cash immediately and the balance in two annual instalments. Additionally, NAHL can receive contingent consideration in each of the two years following completion, upon Homeward Legal achieving certain performance milestones. The contingent consideration will be based on a share of profits and trade debtors recovered above certain amounts.  The Board believes that the contingent consideration will not be material.

Sale proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. Furthermore, the sale will strengthen the Group's balance sheet and have a positive impact on the Company's gross margin. 

During the year ended 31 December 2022, Homeward Legal generated £1.2m in revenue and £13,000 operating profit. The purchaser of Homeward Legal is Richard Rickwood, a former managing director of the Group's Residential Property business.

James Saralis, CEO of NAHL, commented:

"The sale of Homeward Legal is a good outcome for all stakeholders. It is in keeping with our strategy to build a sustainable and profitable business in the medium term and will allow us to continue to develop the two core elements of our business, Consumer Legal Services and Critical Care. We are confident that under its new ownership, Homeward Legal will uphold its customer and colleague first approach and wish the new owner and staff every success for the future."

Enquiries:

NAHL Group PLC James Saralis (CEO) Chris Higham (CFO)	via FTI Consulting Tel: [phone]
Allenby Capital (AIM Nominated Adviser & Broker) Jeremy Porter/Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate Finance) Amrit Nahal/Stefano Aquilino (Sales & Corporate Broking)	Tel: +44 (0 ) 20 3328 5656
FTI Consulting (Financial PR) Alex Beagley Sam Macpherson Amy Goldup	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]

Notes to Editors

NAHL Group plc (AIM: NAH) is a leader in the Consumer Legal Services market. The Group provides services and products to individuals and businesses in the through its two divisions:

· Consumer Legal Services  provides outsourced marketing services to law firms through National Accident Helpline and claims processing services to individuals through Your Law, Law Together and National Accident Law.  In addition, it also provides property searches through Searches UK.

· Critical Care provides a range of specialist services in the catastrophic and serious injury market to both claimants and defendants through Bush & Co.

More information is available at  www.nahlgroupplc.co.uk ,   www.national-accident-helpline.co.uk , www.national-accident-law.co.uk and  www.bushco.co.uk .

 

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