Financial Highlights
Our innovative approach has driven significant year on year growth, through a mix of double digit organic growth, and selective acquisitions, including six this year.
At a Glance
Who we are
Knights has grown to be a leading legal and professional services business outside London, with 934 fee earners operating from 13 offices across the UK.
What we do
Knights provides a full service offering to corporate clients as well as synergistic services to high net worth individuals, who are typically clients of the Group’s corporate and commercial services.
Our extensive expertise has been strengthened further through the recruitment of high-calibre talent and acquisitions during the year.
Who we work with
We build longstanding relationships with a range of clients from multinational corporations to national corporates and small and medium enterprises.
Where we operate
We are focused on key, attractive markets in the UK outside London, currently operating from 13 offices where we can be close to our client base and build strong local market knowledge and networks.
- Birmingham
- Cheltenham
- Chester
- Crawley
- Leeds
- Leicester
- Maidstone
- Manchester
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Stoke
- Wilmslow
- York
Real Estate
- Asset Management
- Construction
- Development
- Planning
Dispute Resolution
- Litigation
- Debt Recovery
- Property Litigation
Corporate
- Commercial
- Mergers/Acquisitions
- Banking
Employment
- Strategic HR Projects
- Business reorganisation and TUPE
- Management training
- Litigation/Tribunals
- Strategic audits/reports
Private Client
- Landed Estates
- Tax and Trusts
- Conveyancing
- Family
Knights has delivered another strong performance as it grew organically and by acquisition, in line with our strategy to build the leading legal and professional services business outside London
Having been the first business of our type to corporatise in 2012, Knights is a modernised and well-invested legal services business that operates as one team on a common process, data and technology platform.
Non-Executive ChairmanWe delivered a year of strong, profitable, cash generative growth and demonstrated progress in line with our strategy to complement organic growth with carefully targeted acquisitions.
Our investments in operational management, technology and infrastructure, enabled this significant expansion to be executed effectively, with the Group’s staff more than tripling since IPO in June 2018 to over 1,100(or doubling in the last 12 months), and offices expanding from 6 to 13.
Chief Executive OfficerI am pleased to report strong performance for the Group in the financial year.
We have continued to build on our historic strong track record of growth in both turnover and profitability over the past six years with a further 41% increase in turnover and a 45% increase in Underlying Profit Before Tax.
Chief Financial OfficerInvestment case
A strong track record in a highly attractive market.
Experienced operator delivering first class returns
City quality from a competitive cost base
Lower competition in our markets means there is less upward pressure on salaries, allowing us to offer greater value for money for our clients.
Operating outside of major city centres contributes to reduced property costs, and provides a more sustainable work-life balance for our colleagues.
Lawyers with a commercial mindset
Fee earners concentrate on client service, while professional managers run the business.
Lawyers focus on earning fees with no distractions of running the business, which is operated by an experienced senior leadership team who can act with agility.
Scalable Operating Model
Track record of unlocking value from acquisitions, with systems, processes and culture fully integrated by our expert team in under 2 months.
This year we have scaled the business in two existing locations and entered five new locations.
Business model
Fuelled by our passion for creating the leading legal and professional services business outside London, our business model enables us to deliver value by executing our four strategic pillars:
Grow Organically
Strategic Acquisitions
Scale the Operation
Exploit Technology and Data
Competitive
Advantage
Knights has four sources of competitive advantage, which we turn into results via our distinct business model which creates a virtuous cycle of ever-growing value.
1. Market Positioning
We are the dominant player in most of our chosen locations, offering high-quality services from a lower cost base outside London.
2. Corporate Structure
Knights’ corporatised structure allows the business to create a clear separation between ownership/ management and partners.
3. Team Based Culture
Culture is often referred to as a key ingredient of a successful business. At Knights we regard it as the primary driver.
4. Scalable Operating Model
Our consistent way of working across the business allows our fee earners to quickly transition from the traditional practices of law firms into those of a client centric and agile modern legal and professional services business.
Our culture in our colleagues’ words:
Knights is very important to us as a partner, representing great value, but also trust and integrity. When we need to get things done very quickly, Knights will do everything they can to get our projects over the line and, when we deal with complex issues, they will put the right expertise our way to deal with those situations. We hope our longstanding relationship continues a long way into the future.Head of Legal, Hanson
Knights is an integral part of our business - for all intents and purposes, almost our in-house lawyers. Over the more than ten years we’ve worked with them, they have been involved in every single acquisition. Knights’ team is very approachable and they have depth to their teams across commercial property and litigation, where they are able to bring in additional expertise quickly and in a cost-effective manner. I would describe Knights as commercial, efficient, professional.Director, Fprop plc
Caring for our People and Communities
The Group is proud of its recent employee net promoter score of +36 and believe it reflects a supportive environment that empowers colleagues to be themselves and use their judgement to do what’s right for clients, the business and the wider community. Our aspiration is to deliver 50,000+ hours to our community through our 4OurCommunity programme.