City law firm Ince called into administration
updated on 17 April 2023
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The Ince Group, once one of London’s largest law firms, is set to enter administration following a protracted auditing process that left it unable to publish its financial results for the year ending 31 March 2022.
The 150-year-old company announced its intention to sell last week, after BDO LLP determined there were “matters outstanding” with its accounts in Hong Kong, putting “increasing pressure” on cash flow and causing a major creditor to withdraw support. The Ince board stated that it had “no choice but to place the company into administration”.
Insolvency specialists Quantuma will be appointed as administrators with the intention of selling the business as soon as possible. This comes after a troubling year for the firm, including an unpublished audit from 2022 and shares suspended since January 2023.
This makes Ince one of the most sizable law firms to have entered administration in recent years. In 2021, the latest figures available, the company was made up of 701 people of which 338 were fee earners.
Notably, the firm’s financial figures from 2021 didn’t suggest a positive trend, with the firm reporting profits of just £300,000, on revenue up by 4% to £100.2 million. However, diluted earnings per share sat at just 0.5 pence in 2021 down from 11.4 pence in 2020, and net debt remained above £6.5 million.
The Ince Group’s full statement regarding administration read: “The length of the auditing process has put increasing pressure on the cash flows of the business. As a result, the company has been holding discussions with its major lender and other creditors, including HMRC, to establish their level of support.
The company has now been informed by a major creditor that it will no longer continue to support the business and, as a result, in order to preserve the future value of the group's business and to protect the interests of employees and other stakeholders the board... has regrettably (sic) concluded that it has no choice but to place the company into administration.”
