BEG Begbies Traynor Group Plc

10 December 2024

Begbies Traynor Group plc

Half year results

for the six months ended 31 October 2024

"Strong financial performance with high double-digit revenue and profit growth"

Begbies Traynor Group plc (the 'company' or the 'group'), the professional services consultancy, today announces its half year results for the six months ended 31 October 2024.

Financial overview

Financial highlights - strong first half building on decade long track record of profitable growth

·      Revenue growth of 16% (11% organic, 5% acquired)

·      Adjusted EBITDA growth of 20% reflecting revenue growth and improved margins

·      Adjusted profit before tax growth of 16%

·      Increase in interim dividend extends our seven consecutive years of dividend growth since 2017

·      Strong financial position and significant levels of headroom within committed bank facilities

o  Free cash flow increased by 8%

o  Net debt position at 31 October reflects significant payments in the period (acquisition earn outs of £4.1m, share buy-backs of £0.8m and dividends of £2.0m)

o  Well placed to continue investing in successful organic and acquisitive growth strategy

Operating highlights - double digit organic growth across both divisions

·      Business recovery and advisory

o  Increased year on year insolvency activity levels in higher value cases

o  Market-leading position maintained (by volume of appointments)

o  Strong growth in advisory income reflecting benefit of recent investment and growth of the team through senior hires

·      Property advisory

o  Asset sales: strong growth driven by property auction volumes (organic and acquired)

o  Consultancy: continuing organic growth in building consultancy instructions together with on-going investment in growing the team

o  Valuations: robust activity levels reflecting supportive market volumes

Current trading and outlook - in line with expectations

·      Confident of delivering full year results in line with current market expectations⁴

o  Supportive market conditions and good activity levels across the business

o  Extending the group's strong financial track record of growth

·      On track to deliver medium-term revenue target of £200m

·      Q3 trading update will be issued in late February 2025

1          Adjusted EBITDA is operating profit before share based payments, depreciation, amortisation and non-underlying items arising due to acquisitions under IFRS.

2          Adjusted PBT is before non-underlying items arising due to acquisitions under IFRS. Adjusted EPS excludes these items and the related tax effect. The board believe that these adjusted performance measures provide more meaningful information on the operating performance of the business.

3          Net debt (cash) includes cash and cash equivalents and borrowings but excludes IFRS 16 lease liabilities.

4          Current range of analyst forecasts for adjusted PBT of £23.0m-£24.3m (as compiled by the group)

Commenting on the results, Ric Traynor, Executive Chairman of Begbies Traynor Group, said:

"I am pleased to report a strong first half performance in which we have continued to execute our strategy to grow the business, reporting high double-digit growth in revenue and profit.

"This builds on a decade of profitable growth, which has been driven by investing in organic development and earnings enhancing M&A. Since 2014 we have tripled the size of the business with a six-fold increase in adjusted profit before tax. Building on this track record, we are making good progress towards our medium-term revenue target of £200m.

"Market conditions remain supportive for the group's service lines which is reflected in our current activity levels and positive momentum across the business. This, together with our financial performance in the first six months, leaves the board confident of delivering current market expectations for the full year, which will extend our longstanding track record of strong, profitable growth."

There will be a webcast and conference call for analysts today at 9:00am. Please contact begbies@mhpgroup.com  if you would like to receive details.

Enquiries please contact:

Begbies Traynor Group plc                                                                                              0161 837 1700

Ric Traynor - Executive Chairman

Nick Taylor - Group Finance Director

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                                                                             020 7523 8350

(Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)

Emma Gabriel / Harry Pardoe

Shore Capital                                                                                                                     020 7408 4090

(Joint Broker)

Malachy McEntyre / Mark Percy / Anita Ghanekar / James Thomas

MHP                                                                                                                                    07595 461 231

Reg Hoare / Katie Hunt / Charles Hirst                                                                               begbies@mhpgroup.com

Notes to editors

Begbies Traynor Group plc is a leading UK advisory firm with expertise in business recovery, advisory and corporate finance, valuations, asset sales and property consultancy. 

We have 1,300 colleagues operating from 45 locations across the UK, together with four offshore offices. Our multidisciplinary professional teams include insolvency practitioners, accountants, lawyers, funding professionals and chartered surveyors.

·      Business recovery

o  Corporate and personal insolvency; contentious insolvency; creditor services

·      Advisory and corporate finance

o  Debt advisory and finance broking; corporate finance; special situations M&A; financial advisory

·      Valuations

o  Property, business and asset valuations

·      Asset sales

o  Property, plant and machinery auctions; property and business sales agency

·      Property consultancy

o  Building consultancy; transport planning; commercial property management; insurance and protection

Further information can be accessed via the group's website at https://ir.begbies-traynorgroup.com/. 

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

I am pleased to report a strong first half performance in which we have continued to execute our strategy to grow the business, reporting high double-digit revenue and profit growth.

We have a proven growth strategy which has delivered a decade of profitable growth. This has been driven by investing in organic development and earnings enhancing M&A, resulting in a diversified and resilient business. Since 2014 we have tripled the size of the business with a six-fold increase in adjusted profit before tax. Building on this track record, we are making good progress towards our medium-term revenue target of £200m.

Business recovery has continued to grow organically with increased activity levels, notably in higher value cases. It remains the group's largest service line and retains its leadership position in the UK market. We are ranked number one by overall volume of corporate appointments, second nationally for administrations and are well placed to continue delivering growth.

Our advisory teams reported strong organic growth in the period driven by instructions across restructuring, debt advisory, finance broking, special situations M&A and financial advisory. Advisory services have been an area of investment for us and we have expanded our team organically in the period through recruiting senior fee earners. As part of the development of this business, we released the first two episodes of the BTG Advisory Restructuring Round-Up podcast. These include a discussion on the current restructuring landscape and a discussion on the complementary advisory services provided by the group.

Our property advisory division was created ten years ago with the acquisition of Eddisons in December 2014. In that period we have significantly increased its scale, service offering and geographic presence driving annual revenue from c.£12m at inception to a current run rate in excess of £45m. Over this ten year trading period the business has demonstrated resilience through the cycle and reported strong growth in revenue and profits.

We have maintained this track record in the period with further strong growth, reflecting the benefits of the continuing organic development of the business and the full year impact of prior year acquisitions.

Across the group, we continue to invest in our people and processes. We have made further progress in developing the learning and development support we provide to our colleagues, with bespoke training courses across a broad range of key skills. We also continue to enhance our processes through increased use of technology to improve efficiency and working practices.  We will continue to focus on driving efficiencies in the way we work as we face the headwind of increased employment costs from April 2025 following the October 2024 UK budget.

We remain in a strong financial position with free cash flow in the period increasing by 8%.  Our net debt position at 31 October 2024 of £3.8m reflects the payment of acquisition earn outs of £4.1m, share buy-backs of £0.8m and dividends of £2.0m (30 April 2024: net debt of £1.4m, 31 October 2023: net cash of £1.1m). We have significant headroom in our overall debt facilities of £35m.

Our cash generation, combined with our debt facilities, provides us with the flexibility to execute our strategy to continue to grow our scale and range of services both organically and through acquisition.

RESULTS

Group revenue in the half year ended 31 October 2024 increased by 16% to £76.3m (2023: £65.9m). Adjusted EBITDA¹ increased by 20% to £15.3m (2023: £12.8m). Adjusted profit before tax² increased by 16% to £11.5m (2023: £9.9m). Statutory profit before tax increased by 57% to £4.7m (2023: £3.0m).

Adjusted diluted earnings per share² increased by 11% to 5.1p (2023: 4.6p). Diluted earnings per share was 1.3p (2023: 0.8p).

Net debt³ as at 31 October 2024 was £3.8m (30 April 2024: net debt of £1.4m, 31 October 2023: net cash of £1.1m), after acquisition earn out payments of £4.1m, share buy-backs of £0.8m and dividends of £2.0m.

1.     Adjusted EBITDA is operating profit before share based payments, depreciation, amortisation and non-underlying items arising due to acquisitions under IFRS.

2.     Adjusted PBT is before non-underlying items arising due to acquisitions under IFRS. Adjusted EPS excludes these items and the related tax effect. The board believe that these adjusted performance measures provide more meaningful information on the operating performance of the business.

3.     Net debt (cash) includes cash and cash equivalents and borrowings but excludes IFRS 16 lease liabilities.

DIVIDEND

The board is pleased to declare an 8% increase in the interim dividend to 1.4p (2023: 1.3p), which will extend our seven consecutive years of dividend growth since 2017 and reflects our confidence in sustaining our financial track record and in the group's financial position and prospects. We remain committed to a long-term progressive dividend policy, which takes account of the group's earnings growth, our investment plans and cash requirements, together with the market outlook.

The interim dividend will be paid on 7 May 2025 to shareholders on the register on 11 April 2025, with an
ex-dividend date of 10 April 2025.

OUTLOOK

The group's financial performance in the first six months underpins the board's confidence in delivering current market expectations¹ for the full year, which will extend our strong financial track record of growth.

Market conditions remain supportive for the group's service lines and this is reflected in good activity levels and positive momentum across the business.

UK insolvencies remain at elevated levels. We anticipate continuing growth in business recovery, our largest service line, as businesses face continuing demand pressures and cost challenges, including the recent rise in costs following the budget and the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates. With our expanded team, we have the capacity and breadth of expertise to provide the advice and support required by our clients in such circumstances. We continue to invest and develop our advisory team, which has a healthy pipeline of engagements. 

Our property advisory teams have ongoing positive momentum and are well-placed to maintain their strong financial performance from the first half year across our three key areas of asset sales, consultancy and valuations.

Our broad range of services, diversified client base, organic growth initiatives and pipeline of acquisition opportunities, leaves us confident of continuing to build upon our strong track record of growth in the current year and beyond.

We will provide an update on third quarter trading in late February 2025.

1.     Current range of analyst forecasts for adjusted PBT of £23.0m-£24.3m (as compiled by the group)

Ric Traynor

Executive Chairman

10 December 2024

BUSINESS REVIEW

OPERATING REVIEW

Operating result

Strong operating performance in the period increasing revenue by £10.4m to £76.3m (2023: £65.9m), an overall increase of 16% (11% organic, 5% acquired). Operating profits increased by £1.9m (18%) to £12.6m (2023: £10.7m).

Operating performance by segment is detailed below:

Operating margins improved to 16.5% (2023: 16.2%) reflecting:

·      business recovery and advisory improved margins reflecting improved activity levels;

·      property advisory margins normalised following additional consultancy fees in the prior year (as previously reported) together with organic investment;

·      group services costs as a percentage of revenue reduced.

Markets

The marketplace for our advisory services continues to provide a positive environment for developing and growing the group.

Insolvency

Corporate insolvencies remained at elevated levels in the 12 months ended 31 October 2024¹ with 24,428 appointments (2023: 24,644). The total number of administrations (which typically involve larger and more complex instructions) in the 12 month period was 1,578 (2023: 1,575), which remains below the pre-pandemic levels in 2019 of c.1,800 appointments.

Commercial property

The property advisory business has benefitted from supportive market activity levels. In the 12 months ended 30 September 2024 there were 120,100 UK non-residential property transactions² (2023: 119,120). This extends the period of stable transaction levels experienced since 2021, albeit this is c.6% below pre-pandemic levels. In addition, lending to UK real estate SMEs³ increased to £60.0bn at 30 September 2024 (2023: £57.7bn).

^{1.    Insolvency Service statistics on the number of corporate insolvencies in England and Wales on a seasonally adjusted basis for the 12 months ended 31 October}

^{2.    HMRC UK monthly property transactions commentary updated 31 October 2024}

^{3.    Bank of England Bankstats tables showing loan amounts outstanding to UK small and medium-sized enterprises of which buying, selling and renting of own or leased real estate (ZKP5)}

Business recovery and advisory

Our business recovery teams have experienced increased demand in the period, notably in higher value cases. As the UK market-leader by volume we continue to benefit from our extensive national coverage and strong digital marketing presence.

Insolvency revenue increased by 7% in the period to £41.4m (2023: £38.8m) and the insolvency order book (including both contingent and non-contingent fees) increased to £76.4m (30 April 2024: £71.9m, 31 October 2023: £70.3m). The non-contingent element increased to £38.8m (30 April 2024: £36.3m, 31 October 2023: £35.0m).

Notable insolvency appointments during the period included the administrations of Caskade Group and Island Poke (hospitality), Strabens Hall (financial services), Beck Interiors (construction) and AAD Transport (haulage), together with a number of large restructuring engagements.

Our advisory team reported strong growth in the period with revenue increasing by 39% to £11.4m (2023: £8.2m) across our range of restructuring, debt advisory, finance broking, special situations M&A and financial advisory services.  Corporate finance activities remained subdued reflecting general uncertainty in the lead up to the October 2024 UK budget.

We have continued to invest in growing our advisory team and have appointed four partners and one director across our London, Manchester and Leeds offices. Their expertise covers special situations M&A, forensics and financial advisory. This expanded team will continue to develop and enhance our reputation for larger and more complex instructions across both formal insolvency and advisory. On these appointments, we are able to deliver the best value to stakeholders from leveraging our broad range of expertise across restructuring, debt advisory, funding, valuations and asset sales.

Property advisory

We have seen strong growth in the period from our asset sales team, driven by property auctions. Following the acquisition of SDL Property Auctions in December 2023, we have made good progress in its integration, which will be completed later this financial year. In the period we experienced organic growth in auction lots across the combined business reflecting both our strong market position and a growing market backdrop.

Our building consultancy team, delivering projects and development activity, continued to expand in the period, with increased activity levels across a broad client base. We have continued to invest organically in growing the team during the period, including enhancing our sustainability expertise.

We reported increased revenue from our valuations team following the prior year acquisition and integration of the Andrew Forbes valuation practice in November 2023. Organic activity levels were robust, reflecting the stable market environment.

We have continued to invest in growing our team in the period through recruiting experienced chartered surveyors notably in our building consultancy and valuations teams.

People and processes

The average number of full-time equivalent (FTE) partners and employees working in the group over the period increased due to both organic investment and prior year acquisitions. Over the last year, the number of fee-earning colleagues in the group increased by 7% to 947 (3% since the start of the financial year).

We have continued to invest in our people, notably through continuing to enhance our learning and development support. During the period, we delivered a leadership development programme to over 200 of our senior business leaders.  We also commenced a series of 'live-learns' providing convenient remote training sessions on core skills which have included maximising the benefit of Microsoft tools, using LinkedIn for business development and the opportunities of AI across the workplace. We have gained CPD accreditation for a number of our courses which enables our professionals to complete an element of their professional development on bespoke in-house courses.

In the period, we launched our fourth save as you earn scheme for all qualifying colleagues.

We have continued to make progress in our process improvement initiatives across our operations to identify and embed improved ways of working, making the best use of technology.

FINANCE REVIEW

Financial summary

Adjusted EBITDA increased by 20% to £15.3m (2023: £12.8m) with non-cash costs (share-based payments and depreciation) increasing to £2.7m (2023: £2.1m).

Finance costs increased to £1.1m (2023: £0.8m) principally due to higher levels of net debt following the prior year purchase of own shares and higher IFRS 16 interest charges.

Adjusted profit before tax increased by 16% to £11.5m (2023: £9.9m).

Non-underlying items

The non-underlying items detailed below all arise due to acquisition accounting.

Under IFRS, acquisition consideration which is contingent on the selling shareholders remaining with the group is charged to the statement of comprehensive income, rather than being capitalised within non-current assets. These contingent payments, agreed in the terms of the sale and purchase agreements, are designed to preserve the value of goodwill and customer relationships acquired in the business combinations. As a result of this treatment of consideration, negative goodwill arises on a number of acquisitions which is credited to income in the year of acquisition.

Tax

The overall tax charge for the period was £2.5m (2023: £1.8m) as detailed below:

The adjusted tax rate of 26% is based on the expected rate for the full year.

Earnings per share (EPS)

Adjusted basic EPS¹ increased by 17% to 5.4p (2023: 4.6p) resulting from the growth in adjusted earnings. Basic EPS increased to 1.4p (2023: 0.8p).

Adjusted diluted EPS¹ increased by 11% to 5.1p (2023: 4.6p), reflecting increased dilutive potential ordinary shares following the granting of options under the group's performance share plan and the maturity of equity settled earn out obligations. Diluted earnings per share increased to 1.3p (2023: 0.8p).

^{1.         See reconciliation in note 5}

Liquidity

The group remains in a strong financial position. At 31 October 2024, the group had net debt of £3.8m (30 April 2024: net debt of £1.4m, 31 October 2023: net cash of £1.1m), represented by cash balances of £4.2m (2023: £8.1m) net of drawn borrowing facilities of £8.0m (2023: £7.0m). All bank covenants were comfortably met during the period.

We have significant levels of headroom in our bank facilities which are committed until February 2027, with two one-year extension options, giving a potential maturity date of February 2029.

Our total facilities of £35m comprise:

·      £25m committed, unsecured revolving credit facility.

·      £10m accordion facility, allowing further debt capacity to support the group's growth strategy, subject to certain conditions.

Cash flow

Cash flow in the period is summarised as follows:

Cash from operating activities (before acquisition consideration payments) was £9.6m (2023: £8.2m) due to increased EBITDA of £2.5m. Working capital absorption of £5.7m (2023: £4.6m) resulted from organic revenue growth and annual profile of payments (prior-year bonuses paid and prepaid annual costs). Lock up² at 31 October 2024 was 4.3 months (30 April 2024: 4.2 months, 31 October 2023: 4.0 months).

Free cash flow in the period increased by 8% to £4.3m (2023: £4.0m).

Acquisition consideration payments of £4.1m in the period related to contingent payments in respect of prior year acquisitions. Following these payments, the estimate of future contingent consideration payments is £15.2m, which will be satisfied by December 2027.

The purchase of own shares of £0.8m related to EBT share purchases of £0.1m and the share buyback programme (announced on 21 October 2024) of £0.7m.  The share buyback programme completed on 7 November 2024.

^{1.    Including deemed remuneration under IFRS3}

^{2.    Lock up determined by unbilled income and trade receivables (net of impairment provision) less deferred income compared to TTM revenue}

Net assets

Net assets as at 31 October 2024 were £76.3m, compared to £78.4m as at 30 April 2024. The movement represents an increase of £8.5m from post-tax adjusted earnings, £2.1m from shares issued by the EBT and £0.7m for credit to equity for share based payments and other share issues, offset by dividends of £6.3m and the post-tax impact of acquisition-related transaction and amortisation costs of £6.3m and £0.8m in relation to shares acquired as part of the share buy back.

Ric Traynor                                                                        Nick Taylor

Executive chairman                                                          Group finance director

10 December 2024                                                            10 December 2024