An employee-owned business increased its profit-share to almost £1m last year – but staff collected the same bonus per head because their numbers had grown so quickly.
Ison Harrison, which converted to employee-owned status in 2022, put aside £986,400 for eligible employees in the year to 31 December – up from £759,000 the previous year. However because staff numbers had jumped from 273 to 355, the distribution approved by the firm’s trustees remained at £4,000 per employee.
During the year, the Yorkshire firm opened branch offices in Queensbury and Selby and added 30 employees through the acquisition of Cohen Cramer Solicitors. Since converting to employee-owned status the group has distributed around £2.5m to staff with more than a year's service.
The 2024 results, published with Companies House this week, shows that the Ison Harrison group now ranks among the top 150 firms nationally, after turnover rose by 24% to £24.7m. Profit before distributions and tax rose marginally to £5.56m, with investments in the business having an expected dampening effect on profits.
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In his strategic report written last week, director Jonathan Wearing said the firm had increased cash reserves from £7.3m to £8.56m even while profit distributions had gone up.
‘This level of cash reserves has put the group in a very strong position to take advantage of further investment opportunities in the market,’ he added. ‘The group has retained a proportion of profits for investment in technology and innovation, which will inevitably result in the group being able to deliver an even more efficient service and further enhance the client experience. The group has also continued to accelerate repayments to its founders in order to forward its ‘financial freedom’.’
Since the end of the financial year, the group has acquired the personal injury firm Armstrong Luty Solicitors, based in Skipton. The purchase took the total number of offices across the region to 21, with more branches likely to be added.
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