TIDMINCE
RNS Number : 3502M
Ince Group PLC (The)
23 May 2022
Prior to publication, the information contained within this
announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information, as stipulated under the UK Market Abuse Regulation.
With the publication of this announcement, this information is now
considered to be in the public domain.
The Ince Group plc
("Ince", the "Company" or "Group")
Trading Update
The Board of Ince provides the following trading update
following the end of the financial year on 31 March 2022
("FY22").
As a result of a challenging last quarter of the financial year,
overall revenue for FY22 was slightly below the prior year ("FY21")
at approximately GBP97m (unaudited). The reasons for the revenue
shortfall were:
-- the resurgence of Covid-19 impacting the UK market from the end of November 2021;
-- the Covid-19 impact in Hong Kong and People's Republic of
China, particularly on our offices in that region;
-- the Ukraine conflict affecting global shipping, a key market for us; and
-- a cyber attack at the end of FY22, when the Group was mid-way
through IT system migrations in Asia.
Together with some adverse movements in our overheads, this will
mean that reported pre-tax profits are expected to be short of
market expectations.
Cyber attack
The Group was the victim of a cyber-attack on 13 March 2022,
which has meant that the business has had to adapt to difficult
operating conditions for a short period of time. Disaster recovery
procedures were immediately implemented, including taking some
systems offline. A team of specialists was appointed immediately to
support the restitution of systems and advise on managing the
situation.
Our first concern was to minimise the effect on client work.
Once the data loss had been quantified, it was clear that the
effects of the attack had principally been on non-client data and
our own internal systems, which have now substantially been
restored. We continue to investigate the matter and restore some
data, but we remain vigilant and have successfully implemented
upgrades to our IT systems and controls.
At this time we believe that the overwhelming majority of the
costs incurred will be covered by insurance, and although the
operating conditions have been difficult, as the systems are now
substantially restored we do not believe the effect on the Group's
financial performance will be material going forward.
Acquisition of Arden Partners PLC
When we were informed on 6 April 2022 that the London Stock
Exchange had notified Arden that its application for continued
Nominated Adviser status following a change of control had not been
approved, the Boards of each business subsequently assessed the
likely impact of this decision and concluded that despite the
reduced forecasts, the acquisition still represented good value for
Ince shareholders and that the original rationale had not been
severely impacted. We were pleased then that the acquisition of
Arden subsequently completed on 28 April and we are now starting to
capitalise on the identified synergies and cross-selling
opportunities.
Publication of Annual Results
As a result of the circumstances outlined above, our final
audited results are unlikely to be published before September. Our
newly appointed auditors, BDO, are aware of the situation and
working closely with us to ensure the financial reporting process
remains efficient.
Simon Howard, the Group's Chairman, said : "Since the
announcement of the Offer for Arden on 26 October 2021, we have
been bound by tight regulatory conditions in terms of communication
with our shareholders. For reasons beyond our control the timetable
for the Arden offer slipped considerably as we awaited decisions
from regulatory authorities. This resulted in an extremely
challenging period for management, which was then exacerbated by
Covid-19, global market conditions and a cyber-attack in mid-March.
The net result is that the Board now anticipates that the final
trading results for the year to March 2022 will be behind
expectations.
"I am committed to frequent, open and informed communications
with shareholders, and to ensuring that the strategy of the Group
is understood and embraced by all stakeholders."
Adrian Biles, the Group's CEO, added: "The final quarter of the
2021/22 financial year presented a number of challenges. It had
been the Board's intention to complete the Arden acquisition prior
to the end of January 2022 but due to regulatory matters this was
delayed until after the March 2022 balance sheet date. The UK's
Covid-19 lockdown in December 2021 and January 2022 also had a
negative effect on financial performance, as did similar issues in
Asia, and on top of this, the Group was extremely unfortunate in
being victim to a cyber attack in March.
"The hurdles and timetable that were applied to the Arden
acquisition caused much frustration. Now completed, we can move
forward to pursue our vision and continue to grow our global
multi-talented professional services group.
"I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am
extremely proud of the way the business and its people have reacted
to these challenges".
Enquiries:
The Ince Group plc
Adrian Biles, Group Chief Executive investorrelations@incegd.com
Simon Oakes, Chief Financial Officer
Allenby Capital Limited - Nominated
Adviser +44 (0) 20 3328 5656
Jeremy Porter / Piers Shimwell, Corporate
Finance
Arden Partners plc - Broker +44 (0) 20 7614 5900
John Llewellyn Lloyd, Corporate Finance
Louisa Waddell, Corporate Finance
Simon Johnson, Equity Sales
Williams Nicolson - Financial PR +44 (0) 7767 345 563
Steffan Williams / Fraser Schurer-Lewis ince@williamsnicolson.com
About The Ince Group plc
The Ince Group is a dynamic international legal and professional
services business with offices in nine countries across Europe,
Asia and the Middle East. With over 700 people, The Ince Group
delivers legal advice, strategic guidance and business solutions to
clients ranging from the world's oldest and biggest businesses
operating across numerous industries to ultra-high net worth
individuals. Through its entrepreneurial culture and "one firm"
approach, the business offers its clients over 150 years of
experience, insight and relationships. The Group is driven by a
unique team of passionate people whose broad expertise and deep
sector specialisms provide their clients with solutions to all
their complex legal and strategic needs.
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