The boss of personal injury specialist Minster Law says there could be further acquisitions this year as the business continues to grow.

But Shirley Woolham, chief executive of the Wakefield-based firm, said Minster would not offer other practices an easy way to palm off the PI work they no longer want to run.

The business, owned by insurance giant BHL, has been vocal about continuing to work on lower-value RTA claims despite costs no longer being recoverable for cases valued at less than £5,000. The firm expects a ‘significant boost’ to its PI performance this year as a result of new partnerships and an increase in overall road usage.

Shirley Woolham

Minster chief executive Shirley Woolham

Last year Minster bought the low-value PI business of national firm Irwin Mitchell, bringing on board 80 staff, and is primed for further growth.

Woolham said: ‘We have always stated our intention to look at acquisitions. I get offered lots of opportunities to buy books [of cases] but we are not [looking] to buy work in progress.

‘Organic growth in our insurer and broker partnership base remains our primary route to further consolidating our market position in Motor PI. We’ll remain open to further acquisition opportunities, but only when they represent a good strategic fit for the business.’

The firm said its financial performance for the year ending 30 June 2021 was above expectations, following a trading year affected by the pandemic. Profit before tax and exceptional costs was £513,000 – around half the pre-tax profit for the year before. After tax and exceptional items, the business actually made a statutory loss of £4.23m. Minster said this was due to a one-off charge of £4.7m ‘relating to an agreement to assist a partner in transitioning to a post reform environment’. Turnover was down from £34m to £28.6m.

Woolham added: ‘We have proved our resilience in a market that has witnessed a 25% reduction in motor injury claim volumes - to report a positive financial position, a strong balance sheet and the capability to take advantage of emerging opportunities in a claims sector undergoing rapid change.’

 

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