Two Manchester firms have confirmed buoyant financial results after responding to the challenge of making money from personal injury.

Express Solicitors reported that revenue increased by 22.5% to £12.3m in the 2015/16 year ending 31 August, with profit before tax just above £3m.

The firm has expanded its team from 177 employees to 187 in the past year, including 69 fee-earners and 17 partners.

Express, which has been going for 16 years, is a specialist in personal injury and managing partner James Maxey said the firm has had to adapt following reform of the sector in 2013.

‘Every aspect of the company’s cost basis has had to be looked at and the costs that we can keep under control, such as office space and professional indemnity, we do,’ said Maxey.

‘We have a mix of lower-value, relatively quick-turnover work and a substantial case load of multi-track or catastrophic (including clinical negligence) work and that mix of work along with the skills of our lawyers in pushing cases to achieve maximum compensation (and thus appropriate costs) means that our business is still able to move forward.’

Meanwhile, another Manchester firm, Clear Law, says it will expand on the back of financial results that saw turnover increase 173% to £8.2m in 2015. Headcount has more than doubled to 85 since 2011.

The firm says it has moved away from lower-value, high-volume personal injury work to move into the commercial sector.

The firm has acquired a new office in the city’s Castlefield area for £1.2m, with 5,000 sq ft of space and more facilities for meeting clients face-to-face.

Matthew Corbett, managing partner, said the firm will make ‘pervasive use’ of IT, including sound-controlled rooms and secure facial recognition software.