New business helped drive up revenues to almost £200m at Newcastle accident claims specialist Winn Group.
Winn Group, which was launched in Byker 23 years ago by founder Jeff Winn, has seen significant growth in recent years, powered by backing from investment companies and legal reforms which forced many competitors out of the market. A significant investment from its backers 12 years ago – JZ International (JZI) and Souter Investment Group – triggered expansion at the law firm, allowing it to rapidly grow its teams and expand its one-stop shop for accident management services across the Ƶ.
Now accounts for Winn Group Holdings have been released for the year ended March 2025 – the firm’s first since founder Jeff Winn stepped down – showing revenues jumped from £190.1m to £196.2m, as well as a positive performance across all its key indicators. Operating profit rose from £35.3m to £38.8m. The firm also saw a huge rise in the number of employees, adding 103 new members of staff to take the headcount to 713.
The accounts show that On Hire Limited revenue increased 2% to £171.3m on the back of increased levels of hire instructions and improved non-protocol hire recovery. Meanwhile Winn Solicitors Limited ended the financial year with a 32% increase in legal fees, thanks to a 46% increase in non-personal injury legal fees and a 38% rise in personal injury fixed recoverable costs.
CEO Chris Birkett said the volume growth came from a number of new business wins as well as organic growth from existing accounts. He said this was offset by a near 10% fall in average hire periods, as the market returned to normal in parts supply and labour, both of which were badly hit by the pandemic.
Mr Birkett added that the group remained fully committed to investing in technology to enhance customer service and drive efficiencies.
He said: “This is the first set of results without our founder, Jeff Winn, at the helm. Jeff has been an outstanding leader of the group and a driving force behind our success. As the major shareholder and board member, he will continue to be involved in an advisory capacity, and his insight and strategic perspective will be essential as we move into the next phase.
“Our protocol arrangements with insurer partners are a key differentiator for the group, and for claims where we don’t have protocols, we chose the right ones to litigate and delivered a 96% success rate when we did go to court. Our success rate underlines the value of protocols, which bring transparency to claims management for all sides.
“We are one of the very few claims firms to own a solicitors and our results demonstrate the value of having that skill set in house; the fee income made a valuable difference to our result. We have also developed an open banking app to support impecunious clients, who need to provide data to explain their financial position when making a claim. This can be a laborious and stressful process, but our new app makes the process much easier.”
Looking ahead, Mr Birkett said the motor claims market continues to adapt to the post reform, post-Covid world. The group plans to boost future growth by developing a wider portfolio of products and services, including growth in sister firm Winn Solicitors Scotland, where the offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow are now 36-strong.
