The Co-op’s Annual Report 2018 has found that the increased probate services offered by Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has seen their profits improve considerably throughout the year.
In September, CLS consolidated their status as the UK’s largest company providing Wills and probate services when they acquired Simply Probate and decided to take on their 170 staff, taking CLS’ staff total to more than 600.
During this time, CLS were boasting profits of £800,000 in the opening six months of the year, representing a profit four times higher than 2017’s figures. Revenue was also up 31% to £16.1 million from the £12.3 million recorded a year earlier.
Since these H1 figures for 2018, profits and turnover have increased further. Throughout 2018, CLS profit has increased by 53% to £2.3 million. Similarly, revenue has also improved by 37%, taking more than £34.9 million over the course of the entire year.
Caoilionn Hurley, Interim Managing Director of Life Planning and Legal at the Co-op, said:
“I’m really pleased with our performance in 2018. We’ve made good progress in continuing to build our life planning business, which is evidenced by our results which show strong underlying growth in revenue and profit.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in sales in our estate planning and probate practice areas; our share of the probate market has increased, further consolidating our position as market leader in the UK.
“We remain committed to expanding our life planning and legal business for our clients and members and will do this by continuing to invest in our colleagues and technology.”
As the company continues to integrate a number of other complimentary services, such as the conveyancing services ‘Move With Us’ provide, it seems that CLS are adapting to the needs of the nation by providing a mainstream full-service product that is presently reaping rewards.
How will CLS’ continued growth impact the Wills and probate sector?
