Manchester-headquartered international law firm DWF Group plc said on Thursday its revenue rose 3.8% to £203.5 million for the half year ended October 31, 2021, and adjusted profit before tax was up 39.6% to £18.7 million.

DWF Group CEO Nigel Knowles said: “We are delighted with our performance for the first half of FY22. 

“We have continued to see strong revenue growth on a like-for-like basis, after the decisive action taken in the prior year to exit or slim down a number of businesses. 

“We have seen an improvement in our gross margin and a reduction in our overheads relative to revenue. 

“This has led to a compelling step-change in profitability with our adjusted pre-tax profit increasing by 40%. 

“Our client proposition of providing integrated legal and business services is gaining traction and leading to a strong pipeline of instructions.

“I am also pleased that today we have announced our group ESG strategy, which aligns with our purpose to deliver positive outcomes with our colleagues, clients and communities.

“The strategy includes new and stretched targets focused on climate action and further improving our diversity and inclusion performance.

“We want to build on our established programmes to become the market leader in ESG and we believe that the strategy announced today creates a firm foundation to help us achieve our targets. “