Latest news with #ParkmeadGroup
The Herald Scotland
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Brodies chief declares firm embracing AI with 'open arms'
He told The Herald: 'The rise of generative AI is an opportunity for the legal sector, and having tech that will help free up our colleagues to focus even more on our clients is something that we welcome with open arms. 'The firm has already assessed and adopted new ways of working that involve the latest technology, including use cases established through immersive AI labs that our innovation and technology team, together with teams of lawyers, worked on last year. 'When appropriate, AI tools can be used in tandem with lawyers to review and summarise information. Our evaluation will continue as new and improved products come to market but we also see people as being key to unlocking more use cases. The challenge lies in identifying and using AI in a way that creates efficiencies, freeing up lawyers to do the parts where clients require and benefit from human judgement, insight and interaction.' 'Confusion and uncertainty': Scotch whisky rocked by global upheaval Energy chief's price pledge as £300m Glasgow district heating scheme takes shape Edinburgh firm outguns forecasts after snubbing £1bn takeover approach 'Deeply concerning': More Scots firms plan to shut than expand Mr Goldie's comments came as Brodies booked a 15th consecutive year of growth. Brodies reported this week that its turnover had increased by 11% to £126.7 million in the year ended April 30, lifting operating profits above £50m, against a backdrop of domestic and global headwinds. The firm said it had seen growth across all of its core practice areas over the period, and highlighted its work on a number of major corporate deals. These included acting for Parkmead Group, the energy firm built by North Sea veteran Tom Cross, on the sale of its UK oil assets to Serica Energy, and for Three60 Energy on its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Samphire Subsea Limited. Mr Goldie told The Herald the firm had seen an increase in appetite for corporate deal-making in Scotland, despite the volatile backdrop. He said: 'There have been fluctuations in the flow of UK and international deals, with some volatility in the investment and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) markets generally, largely attributable to macroeconomic and geopolitical issues. 'However, with interest rates and inflation in the UK having largely stabilised, that degree of increased certainty in the market is feeding an appetite for deals in many key sectors across the Scottish market. From our clients we're seeing those movements particularly evident in, for example, the energy, technology and business services sectors.'
The Herald Scotland
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish law firm Brodies defies 'global headwinds'
The firm, which employs nearly 900 people across offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and London, highlighted the 'resilience and ambition' of its clients amid the domestic and global headwinds as it reported an 11% rise in turnover to £126.7 million for the year ended April 30. The rise in turnover, which was driven by growth across all of the firm's core practice areas – banking and finance, corporate and commercial, dispute resolution and risk, personal and family, and real estate – helped lift operating profit above £50m from £49.2m the previous year. Profit per equity partner was recorded at £885,296. Asked to assess the current appetite for deal-making in Scotland, Mr Goldie, who succeeded Nick Scott in the top job last year, told The Herald: 'There have been fluctuations in the flow of UK and international deals, with some volatility in the investment and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) markets generally, largely attributable to macroeconomic and geopolitical issues. 'However, with interest rates and inflation in the UK having largely stabilised, that degree of increased certainty in the market is feeding an appetite for deals in many key sectors across the Scottish market. From our clients we're seeing those movements particularly evident in, for example, the energy, technology and business services sectors.' Highlights of its most recent financial year flagged by Brodies include acting for Parkmead Group, the energy firm built by North Sea veteran Tom Cross, on the sale of its UK oil assets to Serica Energy, and for Three60 Energy on its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Samphire Subsea Limited. Brodies also acted on Europa's £70m acquisition of the Granary Quay build-to-rent residential development overlooking the River Clyde in Glasgow from Dandara Group. 'Confusion and uncertainty': Scotch whisky rocked by global upheaval New Scots planning chiefs flag 'headwinds' amid signs of activity Energy chief's price pledge as £300m Glasgow district heating scheme takes shape Mr Goldie noted: 'Achieving progress amid continuing domestic and global headwinds reflects the resilience and ambition of our clients in Scotland, across the UK, and internationally. Their trust in us to deliver results on complex and exciting mandates inspires us to work harder and smarter every day. 'Recording our fifteenth consecutive year of growth is testament to the strength of those relationships and the dedication of our colleagues to deliver exceptional legal services. 'As we enter the second year of our current three-year strategic cycle, we remain focused on those plans—recognising the talent and contribution of our colleagues, encouraging greater collaboration across our firm and with our clients, and investing in our offices and in technology that augments the high standards our clients expect.' Brodies said it invested in the Highlands and Islands over the period, including to expand its Inverness office to support its growth ambitions for the region. The firm made further additions to its team, with its headcount climbing by 5% to 883. Key hires include the appointment of banking and finance partner James Wilson, while seven internal partner promotions were made. A 5% bonus was paid to all eligible colleagues, compared with 3% last year, alongside individual performance bonuses and salary increases. Cash balances at year-ended stood at £23.7m, up from £20.9m at the same stage a year earlier. The results reflected the first full financial year overseen by Mr Goldie, and came as Iain Rutherford steps up to succeed Christine O'Neill KC as chair. Ms O'Neill, who has completed four three-year terms in the role, continues to be a partner of the firm. Mr Goldie added: 'We also welcome our new chair, Iain Rutherford, and extend our utmost thanks to Christine O'Neill KC for the considerable wisdom and unwavering commitment she brought to the role of chair. Clients and colleagues alike will continue to benefit from those qualities in her role as a partner in our disputes team. 'The year in review marks my first full year as managing partner. In that time, it has been my privilege to work closely with many colleagues across the firm. I am continually impressed by the exceptional talent and kindness that I witness daily. It reminds me that over and above everything else, we are a people business that believes in our core values."
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
There Are Some Reasons To Suggest That Parkmead Group's (LON:PMG) Earnings Are A Poor Reflection Of Profitability
Shareholders were pleased with the recent earnings report from The Parkmead Group plc (LON:PMG). However, we think that investors should be cautious when interpreting the profit numbers. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. Many investors haven't heard of the accrual ratio from cashflow, but it is actually a useful measure of how well a company's profit is backed up by free cash flow (FCF) during a given period. To get the accrual ratio we first subtract FCF from profit for a period, and then divide that number by the average operating assets for the period. You could think of the accrual ratio from cashflow as the 'non-FCF profit ratio'. As a result, a negative accrual ratio is a positive for the company, and a positive accrual ratio is a negative. While it's not a problem to have a positive accrual ratio, indicating a certain level of non-cash profits, a high accrual ratio is arguably a bad thing, because it indicates paper profits are not matched by cash flow. That's because some academic studies have suggested that high accruals ratios tend to lead to lower profit or less profit growth. Parkmead Group has an accrual ratio of 0.53 for the year to December 2024. As a general rule, that bodes poorly for future profitability. And indeed, during the period the company didn't produce any free cash flow whatsoever. In the last twelve months it actually had negative free cash flow, with an outflow of UK£1.9m despite its profit of UK£3.00m, mentioned above. We also note that Parkmead Group's free cash flow was actually negative last year as well, so we could understand if shareholders were bothered by its outflow of UK£1.9m. Importantly, we note an unusual tax situation, which we discuss below, has impacted the accruals ratio. This would certainly have contributed to the weak cash conversion. The good news for shareholders is that Parkmead Group's accrual ratio was much better last year, so this year's poor reading might simply be a case of a short term mismatch between profit and FCF. As a result, some shareholders may be looking for stronger cash conversion in the current year. Note: we always recommend investors check balance sheet strength. Click here to be taken to our balance sheet analysis of Parkmead Group . Moving on from the accrual ratio, we note that Parkmead Group profited from a tax benefit which contributed UK£2.4m to profit. This is meaningful because companies usually pay tax rather than receive tax benefits. Of course, prima facie it's great to receive a tax benefit. And since it previously lost money, it may well simply indicate the realisation of past tax losses. However, the devil in the detail is that these kind of benefits only impact in the year they are booked, and are often one-off in nature. In the likely event the tax benefit is not repeated, we'd expect to see its statutory profit levels drop, at least in the absence of strong growth. This year, Parkmead Group couldn't match its profit with cashflow. On top of that, the unsustainable nature of tax benefits mean that there's a chance profit may be lower next year, certainly in the absence of strong growth. On reflection, the above-mentioned factors give us the strong impression that Parkmead Group'sunderlying earnings power is not as good as it might seem, based on the statutory profit numbers. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. Be aware that Parkmead Group is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis and 1 of those is potentially serious... Our examination of Parkmead Group has focussed on certain factors that can make its earnings look better than they are. And, on that basis, we are somewhat skeptical. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. Some people consider a high return on equity to be a good sign of a quality business. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with significant insider holdings to be useful. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
