Unaudited Interim Results for the period ended 30 June 2021

RBG Holdings plc (AIM: RBGP), the professional services group, is pleased to announce its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2021.

Group Financial Highlights[1]:

• Group revenue and gains up 53.2% to £18.3 million (2020: £12.0 million)
  • Underlying revenues (excluding Memery Crystal) up 35.2% to £16.2 million (2020: £12.0 million)
  • £1.5 million of gains on litigation assets (2020: £0)
  • Group EBITDA up 95.4% to £5.2 million (2020: £2.6 million)
• Underlying EBITDA (excluding Memery Crystal) up 71.3% to £4.5 million (2020: £2.6 million)
  • Group EBITDA margin up to 28.1% (2020: 22.0%)
• Group profit before tax up 279% to £3.9 million (2020: £1.4 million)
• Group profit after tax of £3.1 million (2020: £1.2 million)
• Group earnings per share up 157.0% to 3.47 pence (2020: 1.35 pence)
• An interim dividend of 2 pence per share in respect of the six months to 30 June 2021 was paid on 27 August 2021
• Adjusted free cash flow generation in the period was £2.2 million (2020: £0.4 million)
• Net debt of £9.8 million (2020: net debt of £1.6 million) reflecting new £10.0 million term facility
• As at 30 June 2021, the Group, through Rosenblatt and LionFish Litigation Finance (UK) Limited (“LionFish”), had invested in 15 litigation cases. Total associated contingent work in progress (WIP) of £6.9 million and a total cash investment of £7.7 million

Business Highlights:

RBG Legal Services (“RBGLS”) – Combination of the Rosenblatt and Memery Crystal brands

• Revenue from legal services and gains on litigation assets of £12.8 million (2020: £11.7 million). £1.0 million from gains on litigation assets. Unrecognised contingent WIP of £1.8 million in the period
• Memery Crystal acquisition completed at the end of May for total consideration of £30.0 million
• Average revenue per fee earner of £375,000 (2020: £497,000) reflecting additional fee earners from Memery Crystal prior to the benefits of integration
• Total lockup was 102 days (2020: 114 days) of which debtor days were 46 (2020: 49)
• As at 30 June 2021, RBGLS had invested in 5 litigation cases with an associated contingent WIP of £5.8 million and total cash investment of £4.9 million

LionFish (Litigation Finance)

• Disposal proceeds of £0.8 million in the first half (2020: £nil), building on the £3.2 million of participation rights sold in the seven months of 2020 following launch
• Gains on litigation assets of £0.5 million
• LionFish has approved 10 litigation cases with a funding commitment of £8.0 million over the next three years, of which £3.2 million has been drawn down
• Strong pipeline of cases looking for finance. LionFish has received 393 enquiries since launch with 10 cases approved, 54 under consideration and 329 rejected

Convex Capital (Specialist sell-side M&A boutique)

• M&A activity has been strong in 2021: Convex completed 8 deals resulting in revenue of £5.0 million (2020: £0.3 million) in the period
• Strong pipeline as at 13 September 2021 – 36 active deals, of which nine are at various stages of completion.

Nicola Foulston, CEO, RBG Holdings plc, commented: “Our diversified revenue model is proving incredibly resilient, despite uncertain times, and we are building a strong platform from which to drive future growth.

“Our legal services business, strengthened by the acquisition of Memery Crystal, continues to receive a high volume of new client instructions. Since the lifting of lockdown our legal services and M&A businesses have seen strong growth in M&A and Capital Markets activity. Our Corporate and Dispute Resolution practices have performed exceptionally strongly as a result. We are building one of London’s premier mid-tier law firms providing quality advice to entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals.

“After its first year of operation, our litigation finance business, LionFish has been a success, already funding ten third-party cases. By selling a percentage of the invested assets, it has generated profit from day one of its inception as well as helping to de-risk the Group’s investment. Our M&A advisory business, Convex Capital, has bounced back strongly from a difficult 2020 with the return of M&A activity.

“The Group has had an excellent first six months which is reflected in our revenue and profit growth. With strong demand for all Group services, we are on track to meet our recently upgraded market expectations for the full year. While acknowledging the economic conditions continue to be volatile, we look forward to the coming months with optimism and are excited about the long-term prospects for the Group.”

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