One of the few remaining listed law firms continues to grow, but one-off costs have taken a toll on the bottom line.

Professional services group Gateley told the London Stock Exchange that underlying pre-tax profit rose 1.2% to £23.3m in the year to 30 April. That figure excludes outgoings including share-based payments, acquisition costs and exceptional items. Excluding these items, reported group profit fell by 54.4% to £6.4m.

Group revenue rose by 4.1% to £179.5m, but net assets fell 16% to £67.5m. The company ended the financial year with net debt of £6.6m, explained by cash being used for ‘equity recirculation and expansion of the group’. The fall in net cash was due to the return of staff bonus payments that were paid in 2024/25 and a decrease in trade and other payables.

Debtor days came down from 111 to 110 days which increased working capital.

In a statement, the board said it was conscious of ongoing volatile market conditions but the group was 'performing in line with market expectations'.

Rod Waldie, chief executive (pictured above), said the year’s highlights included increasing the revolving credit facility to £80m to support further growth. The firm remains alert to acquisition opportunities, he added.

‘FY25 represents another year of revenue and underlying profit growth for Gateley, set against an unpredictable economic backdrop for much of the year,’ said Waldie. ‘We are particularly pleased that this growth was driven by the combination of positive returns on our recent investments with an increase in activity levels and active management of cost inflation.’

The group is proposing a final dividend of 6.2p per share,  the same as last year.

Shares in Gateley Holdings plc fell 1% to 132p following today’s announcement.