Shares of Manchester-based corporate rescue practice Begbies Traynor Group plc rose 4% on Tuesday after it said its revenue for the year to April 30 rose 15% to £60.1 million and adjusted profit before tax soared 27% to £7.1 million.

“Insolvency volumes nationally increased, with the underlying number of corporate insolvencies in calendar year 2018 growing by 10% to 16,106 (2017: 14,630),” said Begbies Traynor.

“In this improving market, we have maintained our market share, continuing to take the largest number of corporate insolvency appointments in the UK.”

Begbies Traynor is recommending an increased dividend for the year to 2.6p, an increase of 8% and said its board remains committed to a long-term progressive dividend policy.

Begbies Traynor Group executive chairman Ric Traynor, who owns 23.77% of the firm’s shares, said: “We have reported another year of strong financial performance, ahead of our original expectations, in which we have grown the business organically, completed four acquisitions and increased the dividend whilst reducing net debt.

“All areas of the group performed well, reflecting the benefits of recent organic investment, an increase in market activity and the good performance of recent acquisitions.

“Looking ahead, we are better positioned than ever with multiple sources of potential growth supported by a strong financial platform.

“There is currently uncertainty in the UK economy as a result of the Brexit process, but with a combination of our counter-cyclical activities together with our breadth of services, we are well placed to continue our track record of growth in the new financial year and beyond.”

Other significant shareholders in Begbies Traynor Group include Fidelity Worldwide with 7.93%, OVMK Vermogensbeheer with 6.10%, Close Brothers Asset Management with 5.16%, Hendrik Marius Van Heijst with 4.45% and Allianz Global Investors with 3.96%.