Insolvency litigation finance specialist Manolete Partners (MANO:AIM) revealed it had seen a strong uptick in new signed cases and enquiries in the first four months of the year, sending its shares up 8% to 480p on higher than average trading volumes.
New signed cases were above prior-year levels in each of the first four months, totalling 58 by the end of April compared with 27 a year ago, marking a 115% increase. Four cases were completed last month, in line with last year’s monthly average, while eight cases were completed in March alone.
New enquiries rose at an even faster rate, up 129% to 238 in the first four months compared with 104 in the prior-year period. The year got off to a strong start with the inclusion of a block of 21 cases from a single insolvency practitioner.
Chief executive Steven Cooklin said he expected there would be ‘an unavoidable knock-on effect for the UK economy, and we would expect that this will lead to an increase in case referrals to Manolete in the months to come.’
A month ago the firm reported gross proceeds of £10.1m for the year to 31 March, up from £9.3m the previous year, and flagged increasing activity levels.
While there have been some delays in the court process, very few of Manolete’s cases actually reach court. The firm has been conducting mediations and dispute resolution meetings using video conferencing with no loss of momentum.
