Interview
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Cover interview
NeilHudgell: Getting busy
N
eil Hudgell had a busy 2013. Many PI firms have spent the last few months wondering where to turn next following the Jackson reforms, but Hudgell has seen his
firm grow. His secret? Good old fashioned preparation. Hudgell marked out a clear course to acquire new work long before last April's Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act came into full effect. The owner of his eponymous personal injury and medical
negligence specialist firm has masterminded a period of significant expansion through his innovative
webuyanyfiles.com venture and the takeover of a number of firms' PI departments, including a large book of work from London-based Harris Cartier Solicitors, which went into administration back in October. As a result, the firm is now considering opening more offices in
other major UK cities, as it looks to establish itself as a nationally recognised PI specialist. Claims Magazine recently caught up with Hudgell, who was
named the Outstanding Innovator of the Year at the Claims Innovation Awards in 2013.
You seem to have been incredibly busy in 2013, opening an office in London and entering into collaboration with Simpson Millar to extend the reach of
webuyanyfiles.com. Did you always see 2013 being such
a productive year or were you surprised by your success? At this point, it's hard to gauge the success of our 2013 acquisitions, but we do have rigorous due diligence processes so I would like to think we will make some healthy returns out of the work we have bought in. Establishing a London base was a natural progression for the firm to enable us to service our southern clients. The opportunity to acquire an existing book, with a highly experienced team from Harris Cartier, was too good to pass up. Yes, we are busy in a fast evolving market place. With so much change and uncertainty though, I see it either as get busy, or stagnate and be picked off.
How has the tie-up with Simpson Millar worked so far
from your perspective? Very well. They have a more across the board legal offering and a wider geographical footprint so it's enabled us to negotiate with a broader range of firms seeking exit.
Tere have been some relatively high profile entrants into the PI caseload purchase market, are there enough
32 /Claims Magazine/Issue 11
cases to go around, so to speak, in your opinion? I think there are a lot of talkers, rather than doers. My experiences
are that only very few deals are actually being done, certainly for any appreciable monetary consideration. No savvy seller should dispose of their work without a significant upfront capital payment, which a lot of acquirers don't seem willing to pay. And the process isn't an easy one. We have done 20 plus deals and are still refining as we go along.
When do you see
webuyanyfiles.com reaching its natural conclusion? Or do you see it having a longer
shelf life than many would expect? I have two deals done already this month and hope to complete another 8 to 10 over the year. The appetite for our offer doesn’t seem to be abating but we will re-assess regularly and if the opportunities resulting from webuyanyfiles do slow, I expect we will direct our marketing spend back towards organic routes to market.
Has it been difficult to keep up your commitment to high levels of client care as the firm grows, and how
have you gone about preserving it? Ensuring high levels of client care continues to be a priority. All our new staff have a rigorous induction. We also have a pretty sophisticated case management system to ensure efficient case handling, including monthly communication and guaranteed response times to client queries.
How have your marketing strategies altered (if at all) since the Jackson reforms? Where do you believe you have got your best results from your marketing and why
do you think that is so? We invest heavily in marketing, particularly radio, TV and online, although post-Jackson costs per case have inevitably increased. However, we have been careful to analyse and monitor the effectiveness of our marketing spend and target the niche areas where we are getting the best returns. We haven't been in the mass referrer market so not a great deal has changed.
How hard has it been to preserve CFA offers? Surprisingly not. The only obvious area of regular challenge is
low value RTA work where insurers are pushing capture and zero deductions. Elsewhere it's widely accepted by clients that deductions are the norm. There has as yet been no race to the bottom and I don't think there will be. Instead, I see more firms
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