LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Legal and professional services group Gateley updated the market on its trading ahead of its half year results for the six months ended 31 October on Monday, saying it was "pleased" with its strong performance, with revenue expected to be no less than £51m, compared to £46.4m a year earlier.
The AIM-traded firm said the strong growth, which was primarily organic, was built upon a "broadening and deepening" of the group's service lines and the expansion in its average number of fee earners to 673 at the period end, which had increased by 10.3% since the full-year end and by 21.9% since the prior half-year end in October last year.

It said it had continued to invest in its people, infrastructure and national service delivery network, which provided the board with confidence that the company would continue to deliver against market expectations in the second half of the current financial year and beyond.

The pipeline for acquisitive expansion also remained "strong", the board said.

Its sixth acquisition - the land referencing consultancy Persona Associates, which completed in July - had integrated into the group well, and was on schedule to relocate, together with its existing Guildford staff, to an expanded new Guildford premises in early 2020.

Gateley's board also noted that its confidence in the outlook for the group was supported by the company entering into a new five-year orderly market arrangement with its senior shareholding staff, which was announced in October and provided a stable long-term platform for all investors.

"The board continues to invest in the future of the group in order to keep pace with a rapidly changing environment," said chief executive officer Michael Ward.

"As we approach the end of our first five years on AIM, I am pleased with how our business has delivered on its promises to staff and investors.

"Despite the uncertainty around Brexit, which may continue to impact investor and client sentiment in the short-term, we remain confident that the business is well positioned to deliver a strong performance for the full year, in line with market expectations."

Gateley said its results for the six months ended 31 October would be announced on 14 January.

At 0914 GMT, shares in Gateley were up 2.44% at 168p.

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