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DWF Group plc Group DWF Annual report and financial statements 2020 Built for strength and resilience DWF Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2020 DWF Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2020 Our purpose Our purpose is to transform legal services through our people for our clients. That’s why we are transforming our own business, with technological innovation, outstanding sector specialists and advanced working practices. This translates into an entirely new, resilient, business model that benefits from significant recurring revenues from institutional clients in our key industry sectors of Insurance, Financial Services and Real Estate. While the current environment is unprecedented, the Board is confident that the Group is well placed to continue to provide best service to our clients and benefit from future opportunities when the business environment normalises. We are built for both strength and resilience. Strength and resilience are directly interlinked within DWF, throughout this report, this icon highlights examples of how we put this in to practice. For the latest new releases and video presentations please see dwfgroup.com DWF Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2020 01 Highlights Solid performance report Strategic Revenue Revenue per partner1 Cost to income ratio2 Governance £297.2m £784.3k 42.6% +10.9% -9% -0.1ppts Operating Profit Underlying adjusted EBITDA3 Reported PBT statements Financial £22.2m £21.8m £18.2m +46% -22% +40% Underlying adjusted PBT4 Gross profit margin Net debt5 Other information £13.8m 47.9% £64.9m -32% -5.6ppts +£29.6m 1. Revenue per partner is calculated by dividing revenue by the FTE number of partners at the end of the financial year. 2. Cost to income ratio is defined in note 2 of the financial statements. 3. Underlying adjusted EBITDA is defined in note 2 of the financial statements. 4. Underlying adjusted PBT is defined in note 2 of the financial statements. 5. Net debt excludes lease liabilities. Strategic report 71 Risk Committee report 02 DWF at a glance 73 Directors’ Remuneration report 04 Chairman’s statement 92 Directors’ report 06 Group Chief Executive Officer’s report 97 Directors’ responsibility statement 10 Our market drivers Financial statements 12 Our business model 98 Independent Auditor’s report to the members of DWF Group plc 14 Our stakeholders 106 Consolidated income statement 18 Strategy at a glance 106 Consolidated statement of comprehensive income 20 Strategy in action 107 Consolidated statement of financial position 28 Key performance indicators 108 Consolidated statement of changes in equity 30 Financial review 109 Consolidated statement of cash flows 35 Responsible business at a glance 110 Consolidated notes to the financial statements 36 Sustainability report 153 Company statement of financial position 44 Non-financial information statement 154 Company statement of changes in equity 45 Risk management 155 Company notes to the financial statements 47 Principal risks and uncertainties 48 Viability statement and going concern Other information Governance 157 Shareholder information 158 Corporate information 50 Chairman’s introduction 159 Principal offices 51 Corporate governance at a glance 52 Board of Directors 54 Our leadership team – DWF’s Executive Board 57 Corporate Governance report 64 Nomination Committee report 67 Audit Committee report DWF Group plc 02 Annual report and financial statements 2020 DWF at a glance Our culture Who we are We have a collaborative and inclusive culture that underpins our decisions. We are building inclusivity by: − being a force for good in society, and what acting globally and engaging locally; − demonstrating commitment at the highest level; − establishing sustainable and socially we do responsible business principles; − making DWF a great place to work and to do business. Innovation is at the forefront of our strategy to provide a competitive and differentiated offering for our clients. We believe innovation will help us become the chosen See page 37 for more information partner for outsourced legal and Connected Services. As a listed company, we now have a remuneration model which includes equity incentives for our partners and fee earners that we believe is unique amongst our peers. Our values Always aim higher By refusing to do only the minimum and reaching further every time, we expand the realm of what’s possible. Be better together By supporting each other and Our three delivery working as a team we can achieve platforms: Complex, Complex more for our clients and ourselves. Managed, Connected We offer clients premium legal advice, These are at the heart of our expertise and attention. Complex law Disrupt to progress integrated offering, adding value has always been a mainstay of our business. for our clients. Just because there’s an established way of doing things, it doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Keep all promises A promise is a promise, no matter how large or small. By keeping promises, we build trust, loyalty Managed Connected and commitment. We handle process-orientated legal We offer a wide range of additional Attend to details work – but we do it differently. Our products and services through our Managed Services team takes day-to-day Connected Services division, allowing Paying attention to every last detail law and manages it better. We make it clients to consolidate their supply chain. is the right way to ensure clients more predictable and consistent, smoothing These products and services include experience the very best of DWF. and streamlining processes. We also a digital claims platform and software make it more cost- and time-efficient, solutions, as well as specialist lawyers through logical process mapping and and barristers, forensic accountants a technology-enabled platform. and investigators. See pages 12 and 37 for more information DWF Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2020 03 Strategic report Strategic Our divisions Revenue Commercial Services Providing a range of Complex legal services and Managed Services £104.4m to a wide range of clients and sectors, our Commercial Services 119 Partners division includes corporate, litigation and real estate practice groups. 35% 1,008 FTE These cover areas such as business restructuring, commercial and Governance competition, tax and private capital, employment, finance, pensions, real estate, debt recovery, asset management, housing and planning. Insurance Services Providing a range of Complex legal services and Managed Services £95.8m predominantly to insurers and their clients. This division includes our 69 Partners teams covering catastrophic personal injury, occupational health and statements Financial 32% 899 FTE casualty, motor, fraud and resolution law, as well as our professional indemnity and commercial insurance practice groups. Connected Services Providing our products and services that complement the legal £20.2m Other information services offered by our other three divisions. Connected Services 18 Partners has been built on our existing products and services, including our 7% 278 FTE costs business, our insurance claims handling business, and our software and technology company, as well as other service lines, such as loss adjusting. International Providing Complex legal services and Managed Services outside £76.8m of the UK and Ireland, our International division focuses on growth 173 Partners in the same areas of legal services as our Commercial Services and 26% 882 FTE Insurance Services divisions, across territories that include Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Middle East, Poland and Spain. Our international presence We have offices in 31 locations across four continents, with more than 4,200 people. We also work in association with six 4,200+ other legal business around the world, in the USA, Argentina, people are employed across the Group Panama, Colombia, Turkey and South Africa. FTSE 100 We work with 25 of the FTSE 100 companies 10+ year relationships with half of our clients 14% of revenue comes from our top five clients DWF Group plc 04 Annual report and financial statements 2020 Chairman’s statement Supporting our people, delivering for our clients Jonathan Bloomer Chairman Dear shareholder, Business and markets Like all businesses in our sector and beyond, we face the I am delighted to welcome you to our Annual Report and equally considerable challenge of navigating an unpredictable global delighted to introduce myself as your new Chair. I have been economy that will continue to be affected by COVID-19 for the Chairman of DWF Group for a little over five weeks and the foreseeable future. so I want to begin by thanking my predecessor, and now Group CEO, Sir Nigel Knowles, and our Deputy Chairman, Chris Sullivan, for their contributions and support in helping me COVID-19 had a significant impact on our prepare this statement. business, but we have done a number of things I am very pleased to have taken on the role of Chairman of DWF. to ensure DWF has the strength and resilience It is a differentiated business in a highly competitive industry to perform throughout this financial year. that is on the verge of a period of significant change. The Group is very well positioned to capitalise on this change, and I am These include implementing a cost-savings programme that will looking forward to working with the Board to implement the realise £15m of savings in this financial year, and an agreement strategy set out by Sir Nigel, aimed at taking DWF forward with lenders that provides access to a secondary revolving to a new phase of sustainable and profitable growth. credit facility (‘RCF’) of £15m, in addition to our existing RCF of £80m, with a relaxation of certain covenants. While we moved quickly to further strengthen liquidity and increase operational efficiency, we have also seen performance improve markedly since April, as our differentiated offering and range of services remain in demand. Our strong relationships with institutional clients in our key sectors have also ensured that our cash collection has been healthy.