Listed legal firm RBG lost more than £11m in last year as revenue dipped

Listed legal service group RBG Holdings has reported that it lost more than £11m over the last financial year, with revenue dipping by nearly 13 per cent.

RBG has two law firms under its umbrella; dispute focused Rosenblatt and Memery Crystal.

On Tuesday, the group reported its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2023, which showed its revenue dropped to £39.2m – a 12.6 per cent drop on its 2022 figure.

It reported a £11.4m loss before tax, a jump on the £2.1m recorded in the previous year. While its adjusted EBITDA was down 62.5 per cent to £4.6m, it was £12.4m in 2022.

Last year, the group disposed of its litigation finance operation LionFish to Blackmead Infrastructure, which is owned by Averon Park, for £3.1m. It was reported that it used the operation last year to write off £4m after two of the cases it invested in, lost.

The group went through a scandal last year after its former CEO was accused of making a racist comment at a dinner party. Former partner Noel Deans filed a claim to the Employment Tribunal against Nicola Foulston and the group as he was in attendance at the party in question.

She has previously denied the allegation of racism. That case is ongoing.

The group also announced last October that it had settled a case with Foulston for £500,000 after she sued the law firm for wrongful dismissal.

The group has now reshaped its business model with disposals of operation in order to now purely focus on legal services as its core business.

In March, RBG completed the disposal of Convex Capital to a joint venture led by its management team for an initial consideration of £2m, with up to £600,000 of contingent consideration payable on completion of certain subsequent transactions.

Following the completion of that disposal, Ian Rosenblatt will be stepped down from the board.

Commenting on the year the group had, Marianne Ismail, chair, said the group recognises that 2023 was a very challenging year for the group.

While Jon Divers, CEO stated: “We have made significant improvements to the business in 2023 and we are now in a better position to deliver the board’s strategy of building a high margin, cash-generative, legal services group delivering sustained shareholder value.”

The value of its shares has fallen by over 80 per cent over the last year, dropping from 53 per share this time last year, to 9.97 per share.