A hat-trick of takeovers and investment in its own teams helped accountancy firm Begbies Traynor to post a 21% rise in first-half revenues to £33.8 million.
Stripping out acquisition factors, adjusted pre-tax profits for the six months to 31 October climbed by a third to £4 million for day-to-day operations at the insolvency specialist. Rising profits pushed the interim dividend up by 13% to 0.9p.
Executive chairman Ric Traynor said: “The increased scale of the group’s activities, favourable conditions in the UK insolvency market and our strong financial position leaves the group well placed to continue our track record of revenue and profit growth.”
Begbies bought London-based insolvency practice Alexander Lawson Jacobs, Leeds-based business sales agency Ernest Wilson and restructuring advisor Regeneratus during the first half of the year.
The company – which has five offices north of the border – has also appointed Peter Wallqvist, founder of artificial intelligence firm RAVN Systems, to its board as a non-executive director to help it improve its use of computers.
