nahl group plc
annual report and accounts
2014
nahl group plc annual report and accounts 2014 nahl group plc is a leading  
consumer marketing business 
focused on the uk legal services 
market our core brand  
national accident helpline nah 
was established in 1993 and since 
then the group’s business has 
grown to an industryleading 
position as an outsourced 
marketing services provider
as the nation’s most 
searched for and most 
trusted personal injury pi 
brand nah attracts around 
240000 consumer contacts 
per annum
we listen to our consumers 
and provide dedicated 
support when they need  
it most using experience 
gained over 20 years we 
determine if they have a 
genuine claim and connect 
them to an expert solicitor  
to assist them
front cover
jenna reid
contact centre team manager 1 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
2011 2013 2012 2014 2011 2013 2012 2014 2011 2013 2012 2014
253m
140m
48m
12m
debt
cash 
60
68
98
127
net cashdebt underlying operating proﬁt £m
347
392 397
438
revenue from continuing operations £m
net cashdebt underlying operating profit
2
 £m
2011 2013 2012 2014 2011 2013 2012 2014 2011 2013 2012 2014
253m
140m
48m
12m
debt
cash 
60
68
98
127
net cashdebt underlying operating proﬁt £m
347
392 397
438
revenue from continuing operations £m
2011 2013 2012 2014 2011 2013 2012 2014 2011 2013 2012 2014
253m
140m
48m
12m
debt
cash 
60
68
98
127
net cashdebt underlying operating proﬁt £m
347
392 397
438
revenue from continuing operations £m
revenue from continuing operations
1
 £m
153
enquiries increased by 153
£438m
revenue from continuing operations
1
 
increased by 104 to £438m 2013 £397m
29
underlying operating profit
2
 margin 
increased by 4 percentage points to 29 
2013 25
financial
 – revenue from continuing operations
1
 up  
104 to £438m 2013 £397m
 – underlying operating profit
2
 up 293 to  
£127m 2013 £98m
 – underlying operating profit
2 
margin increased  
by 4 percentage points to 29 2013 25
 – excellent cash generation with 976 operating  
cash conversion from continuing operations
1
 – robust balance sheet with net cash of £12m at  
period end net debt of £48m at 31 december 2013
 – basic eps of 206p 230p from continuing operations
 – board proposed final dividend of 107p giving total  
dividend of 157p
operational
 – strong enquiry growth of 153 delivered from  
increased market share in all areas
 – 76 of enquiries generated from faster growing  
nonrta and medical negligence sectors
 – launched stop nuisance calls campaign to drive  
out unsolicited texts and calls
 – post period end acquisition of fitzalan partners extends our  
core marketing and panel management expertise into another 
segment of the fragmented consumer legal services sector
strategic report
highlights 1
our business 2
our market 3
chairman’ s statement 4
business model 6
business model in action 8
chief executive’ s review 12
strategy for growth 16
chief financial officer’s review 18
risks 21
csr – thought leadership 22
csr – our people 24
csr – our community 26
governance
board of directors 28
directors’ report 30
corporate governance report 31
directors’ remuneration report 33
statement of directors’ responsibilities 39
contents
highlights
financials
independent auditor’ s report 40
consolidated statement of  
comprehensive income 41
consolidated statement of  
financial position 42
company balance sheet 43
consolidated statement of  
changes in equity 44
company statement of total  
recognised gains and losses 45
consolidated cash flow statement 46
notes to the financial statements 47
other information
advisors 70
glossary 71
1  continuing operations excludes the demerged ppi 
claimline division and a legacy ate insurance product 
used prior to enactment of the legal aid sentencing 
and punishment of offenders act 2012 laspo on 1 
april 2013
2  underlying operating profit excludes prelaspo ate 
items sharebased payments and oneoff items nahl group plc 2
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
1993
founded
2015
fitzalan 
partners
acquired
1994
first national
press
adverts
2010
underdog
created
2014
nahl group 
plc listed
on aim
 
2014
over 2m 
consumers
helped
1998
contact centre
opened
marketing spend in 2014
£23m
experienced lsas
60
specialist plfs
50
stop nuisance calls
we do not cold call or send spam  
texts or emails we are acutely  
aware of how invasive and upsetting 
nuisance calls can be and believe  
this unscrupulous practice should  
be stamped out in october 2014 we 
launched our stop nuisance calls 
campaign calling upon the 
government to take a much stronger 
stance against the offenders in uk 
industry and to proactively support 
consumers who are subject to millions 
of nuisance calls every year on  
25 february 2015 the government 
increased penalties and lowered the 
threshold for imposing fines which is  
a positive first step
connecting
once the lsa has established all the relevant 
facts and details the consumer is connected 
directly to a plf we connect around 80000 
qualified pi enquiries to our panel of 50 
specialist plfs each year our plfs value  
the consistent quality and mix of enquiries 
without the service which nah provides 
thousands of genuine pi victims would be 
left without a route to justice 
we believe that access to justice is a 
fundamental right and our business helps 
secure this for hundreds of people every 
week for more than 20 years national 
accident helpline has helped millions of 
people who have suffered a genuine 
injury through no fault of their own
our business
our history
listening
our legal service advisors lsas are 
trained to help consumers understand if they 
have a valid claim lsas are experienced at 
identifying claims with merit and only pass 
these across to our panel law firms plfs 
critics of the pi sector make sweeping 
statements about fraudulent claims 
without due consideration for the 
essential assistance that nah and the pi 
sector provides to genuine claimants 
attracting
we understand that personal injury victims 
can feel like the underdog when making a 
claim and many are not comfortable 
contacting a solicitor directly consumers 
see us as approachable experts who will 
listen and advise in an empathetic way  
our nah brand and marketing activity 
generated around 248000 inbound consumer 
contacts in 2014 we do not cold call and we 
lobby against nuisance marketing  3 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report

75
50
25
rta nonrta medical
negligence
compound annual growth rate 201214
source cru analysis 2014 and management estimates 
 08 71 124
pi market  split of claims nah  split of enquiries
our market
we have a leading position in  
the pi market and nah’s focus  
is on the higher margin faster  
growing segments
the pi market is large and fragmented with approximately one million claims per 
annum claims can be divided into three segments road traffic accident rta 
nonroad traffic accident nonrta and medical negligence whilst over three 
quarters of the overall pi market comprises rta claims nah’s focus remains on 
the higher margin faster growing segments of medical negligence and nonrta 
claims these accounted for 76 of nah’s total qualified enquiries passed on to 
plfs in 2014 
the uk pi market is relatively flat in overall terms but medical negligence is 
growing at about 12
1
 and nonrta at about 7 
1
 pa nah’s estimated market 
shares are 19
2
 in rta 116 
2
 in nonrta and 58 
2
 in medical negligence the 
regulatory environment is driving industry consolidation with a 56 reduction  
in the number of regulated claims management companies as at 31 march 2014 
3

1 source compensation recovery unit cru analysis 2014
2 source cru analysis 2014 and management estimates
3 source claims management regulator cmr annual report 201314
market overview
nah’s focus is on higher growth segments
1m
approximately one million pi claims per annum
4
nah market share in pi
  
source cru analysis 2014 and management estimates nahl group plc 4
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
our results continue to demonstrate  
the importance and value of our nah 
brand and marketing expertise as  
we continue to generate increasing 
numbers of quality enquiries for our 
panel law firms
chairman’s 
statement
i am pleased to report the group’s 
first fullyear results for the year 
ended 31 december 2014 since the 
company’s ipo on the aim market 
of the london stock exchange on  
29 may 2014 
steve halbert
chairman
summary of financial performance
nahl group plc has performed well in its 
first year as a listed company with revenue 
from continuing operations of £438m up 
104 2013 £397m this translated into an 
increase in underlying operating profit from 
continuing operations of 293 up from 
£98m to £127m
 
underlying profit before tax from continuing 
operations before prelaspo legal aid 
sentencing and punishment of offenders 
act 2012 after the event insurance ate 
profits sharebased payments and oneoff 
items also increased to £130m 2013 
£54m earnings from continuing operations 
per share were 230p 2013 251p the 
reduction is due to prelaspo ate profits  
in 2013 which is a legacy item
during the period in line with our strategy 
postlaspo we sold ppi claimline limited 
resulting in a loss from discontinued 
operations of £10m final reported figures 
are shown in note 3 to the financial 
statements
nahl’s business model within the pi sector 
operating through our successful nah 
subsidiary continues to be highly cash 
generative with a 976 2013 1063 
conversion of operating profit from 
continuing operations into cash the balance 
sheet is robust and at the period end we had 
cash of £136m 2013 £142m our balance 
sheet also shows £59m of interestbearing 
loans and borrowings 2013 £69m and 
noninterestbearing liabilities of £65m 
2013 £121m relating to the legacy 
prelaspo ate product which we expect 
will be substantially repaid in 2015 and 2016 
giving an effective adjusted net cash position 
of £12m 2013 net debt of £48m at 
31 december 2014
final dividend
the board proposes subject to approval of 
shareholders at the annual general meeting 
to be held on 27 may 2015 a final dividend of 
107p per share payable on 29 may 2015 to 
ordinary shareholders registered on 24 april 
2015 together with our interim dividend 
already paid of 50p per share this takes 
total proposed distributions to 157p per 
share representing 68 of earnings from 
continuing operations per share of 230p 5 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
107 p
final dividend
business review
the group’s results reflect a strong trading 
performance both in terms of our enquiry 
generation and the affordability of those 
enquiries to our plfs enquiry generation 
shows volume up 153 pleasingly the mix 
of enquiries has continued its trend towards 
the higher value categories and about 76 
of the group’s enquiries are generated from 
the faster growing nonrta and medical 
negligence sectors
revenue growth from enquiry generation 
referred to as solicitor income is up 117 
on 2013 this growth is derived from a  
core uk pi market that continues to be 
broadly static in terms of overall enquiry 
volumes and we are confident that we have 
continued to gain market share this has 
been achieved through a combination of 
factors from the effectiveness of our 
underdog advertising campaigns through 
increasing sophistication in our search 
engine optimisation seo and digital 
strategies to the effective call handling  
and direct transfer of consumers to our plfs 
the group continues to invest in its 
multichannel approach to marketing and 
nah supported by the underdog remains 
the most trusted and recognised brand in  
the sector
revenue from the sale of products medicals 
insurance insight and costs which are 
related to the various services required by 
our plfs to run a case efficiently was up 
21 in 2014 this is in part a reflection of the 
decline in products related to prelaspo 
cases however this is more than offset by 
112 growth in our continuing products 
looking ahead our aim is to see the group’s 
continuing product income grow in line with 
solicitor income
board appointment
in november 2014 i was delighted to 
welcome gillian kent to the board gillian 
has significant digital experience from her 
time as ceo of msn microsoft uk and 
propertyfindercom and brings valuable 
expertise to the board as we look to other 
lead generation opportunities
 
acquisition of fitzalan partners
the acquisition of fitzalan partners 
fitzalan completed in february 2015 for up 
to £43m provides us with a platform to use 
our lead generation and seo expertise in a 
sector with close parallels to our core pi 
business
conveyancing is a significant sector in the 
personal legal services market and we are 
excited about the opportunities that this 
acquisition brings we expect fitzalan to be 
immediately earnings enhancing and to 
broaden our platform for delivering 
longterm sustainable growth
we look forward to working with the 
fitzalan team and continuing their 
impressive growth story
 
looking forward
our results continue to demonstrate the 
importance and value of our well recognised 
and trusted nah brand and the strength 
and expertise of our marketing strategy  
we have continued to generate increasing 
numbers of high quality enquiries for our 
plfs early signs from the beginning of 2015 
are encouraging and we have started the 
year in line with our expectations
our strategy of working across the wider 
personal legal services market is gaining 
momentum and we expect growth from our 
core pi market and a positive contribution 
from fitzalan in the conveyancing market 
 
the business has seen considerable change 
during 2014 and delivered excellent results  
i would like to thank our many stakeholders 
and our employees in particular for their 
continued support and contribution to our 
success
we look forward to 2015 with enthusiasm
steve halbert
chairman nahl group plc 6
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
applying brand  
and marketing  
expertise to attract 
consumers
inbound contacts 
become quality
enquiries
see our 
business 
model  
in action  
on pages  
8 and 9
gross leads in 2014
248000
clean leads in 2014
110000
national accident helpline’s  
core business model is based on 
enquiry origination through direct 
response tv and online marketing 
connecting consumers who have 
suffered a nonfault personal injury  
with specialist law firms
business 
model
research
1
 shows that consumers are not 
always comfortable dealing directly with a 
solicitor and the nah brand provides the 
consumer with the confidence that they will 
be given the right support and advice to 
start their claim
through the strength and trust generated by the 
nah brand and our underdog character we 
attracted around 248000 consumer contacts in 
2014 either via website visits inbound telephone 
contact or live web chat our contact centre 
screens out spurious claims and claims where 
the victim is at fault along with hoax calls and 
duplicates resulting in a bank of about 110000 
clean leads
nah does not cold call all inbound 
consumer leads are generated through 
nah’s advertising and online activity and 
come through to a central ukbased contact 
centre where they speak to an lsa the lsa 
is a wellinformed but empathetic 
intermediary between the consumer and the 
law firm and helps the consumer to 
understand if they have a claim 
our lsas receive extensive training and use 
specific criteria to filter consumer contacts 
effectively into qualified enquiries with good 
prospects of success with almost two thirds of 
initial leads being sifted out of the process 
almost 83000 enquiries are passed through to 
specialist plfs to proceed with a claim
1 source independent research the nursery 2014 7 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
satisfied 
solicitors
see our 
business 
model  
in action  
on pages  
10 and 11
satisfied 
consumers
connecting 
consumers and 
solicitors 
seamlessly
qualified enquiries in 2014
83000
we have helped over 2 million 
consumers since 1993 
more consumers search for 
nah than any other pi brand
 
source google december 2014
more than half of our plfs 
have worked with us for over 
10 years
2m
10 years
once the lead has been qualified the enquiry 
and all related information is transferred 
via direct electronic transfer to one of 50 
specialist law firms on nah’s nationwide 
panel the consumer does not have to repeat 
information already shared with nah and 
this results in improved conversion rates 
and improved profitability for plfs
the solicitor then conducts a further risk 
assessment to decide whether to proceed 
with the claim and contracts directly with 
the consumer thereafter referred to as the 
claimant according to plf data we believe this 
results in approximately 48000 running cases strategic report annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc 8
strategic report annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc 8
business model in action
brand awareness
strong
nah has significant experience in brand building and 
integrated multichannel marketing and we conduct 
extensive market research programmes to enhance 
our understanding of the consumer and their needs as 
a result we are very effective in attracting the types of 
enquiries that our plfs find valuable
nah has invested significantly in tv 
advertising to build awareness of the brand 
and the services we offer with a highly 
differentiated advertising campaign that 
uses the underdog character to engage 
consumers nah has the highest branded 
recognition
1
 of any pi tv advert and the 
highest prompted awareness
2
 of any brand in 
our sector consumers also say nah is the 
brand they would most trust to act on their 
behalf
1
 and the brand they would contact 
first clearly demonstrating how strongly 
nah’s advertising campaign and brand 
resonates with consumers
as the digital and online landscape evolves 
consumers are increasingly using the internet 
as a search tool to find out more about claiming 
nah is well placed to capitalise on this trend 
tv advertising has built awareness to such a 
level that nah is the most searched for pi 
brand by name
3

we lead the field in digital marketing
 
and have 
a highly optimised bidding strategy for our 
online pay per click ppc campaigns
3
  
according to google nah has a greater 
number of advert appearances at a higher 
rank and with a better click through rate 
when compared to our peer set importantly 
this is achieved without attracting a 
disproportionately high cost per click relative 
to the pi industry benchmark
another essential component of our digital 
strategy is delivering organic enquiries 
through seo and public relations activities 
this has proved highly effective with organic 
enquiries increasing significantly year on year
86 of our consumers 
choose to go online and  
of those nearly 50  
start their claim using 
our online claim form  
nah invests in website 
design to ensure 
conversion is optimised 
at every stage
wwwunderdogcouk
1 source independent brand tracking the nursery 2014
2 source independent research the nursery 2014
3 source google february 2015 strategic report annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc 9 9
annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc
strategic report
photo courtesy of portsmouth news
satisfied consumer
katie’s story
katie’s mother contacted nah to establish whether they might be 
able to claim against the hospital which had failed to diagnose her 
daughter’s appendicitis for 17 days katie was given multiple 
incorrect diagnoses and finally had an appendectomy two months 
later when they discovered her appendix had wrapped itself 
around other organs causing avoidable damage 
“when i first approached nah i used web chat i’d seen the advert on 
tv googled it and then spoke to an advisor who was very helpful 
and sympathetic right from the start to the end there were no 
complaints whatsoever nah put me straight through to a solicitor 
and i was kept informed right the way through the process i would 
rate them 55 everything was absolutely spot on the hospital 
swiftly admitted liability and our claim was successful i believe 
that if this outcome can help prevent this happening to someone else 
in the future then justice will have been served for katie”
julie
katie’s mother
nah has ten times more reviews on trustpilot than our competitors 
with an average rating of 87 across more than 2000 reviews
source trustpilotcouk february 2015
87 a v er age r at i n g
in 2010 nah created the 
underdog character to feature 
in advertising primarily across 
tv and digital media
the underdog portrays what it is like to be 
‘the little guy’ he characterises how nah’s 
core consumer group feels about making a 
claim when they have suffered a personal 
injury and illustrates the potential for every 
consumer to access justice and the 
compensation they deserve
£200m
nah has invested more than  
£200 million in marketing over  
the past 20 years
85
our nah brand and underdog are well 
recognised with our prompted brand 
awareness at 85 17 ahead of our  
nearest competitor
  
source brand tracking december 2014 strategic report annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc 10
business model in action
connecting
consumers and solicitors seamlessly
on average our plfs 
rate nah as nine out of 
ten for our consultancy 
and performance audit 
services
2

910
in 2014 nah connected around 83000 
consumers to our panel of 50 specialist law 
firms across the uk our plfs cover all areas 
of pi claims and are selected based on their 
ability to deliver quality advice and 
outcomes for consumers and abide by a 
rigorous service level agreement it is vital 
to the nah brand that from the first call to 
case conclusion the consumer experience is a 
positive one we conduct regular audits of 
our plfs and share best practice to ensure we 
achieve this important goal
our research confirms that many consumers are not 
comfortable dealing directly with a solicitor only 22
1
 
choose to contact a solicitor when initially considering 
making a claim the nah brand provides consumers 
with the confidence and reassurance that they will be 
given the appropriate support and advice from the 
outset without the worry of dealing with legal jargon 
or hidden fees
satisfied solicitor
“we started working with nah in 1995 they understand 
consumers’ needs and have built a brand which consumers 
trust their legal services advisors are very effective in 
filtering calls to ensure we receive quality enquiries from 
genuine claimants their solicitor services help our firm to 
process claims efficiently and profitably and importantly 
improve the experience for the claimant
they lobby government effectively and actively champion 
the cause of the underdog with campaigns such as stop 
nuisance calls they are truly passionate about delivering a 
positive consumer experience and conduct regular solicitor 
firm audits and share best practice among the panel law 
firms we find their approach innovative and professional 
and enjoy working together to deliver access to justice to our 
consumers”
david byrne
partner scott rees  co solicitors
1  source independent research the nursery 2014
2  source average of survey results following nah visits 2014 strategic report annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc 11
connecting
once their enquiry is qualified 95 of 
consumers choose to be transferred 
immediately to a solicitor using our direct 
call transfer technology this supports  
case conversion and delivers a better 
consumer experience
50
nah works with 50 of the leading pi law 
firms in the country more than half of 
which we have partnered with for over  
ten years
95 
direct call
transfers
as a market leader with years of experience 
and a robust business model solicitor firms 
are keen to work with us our scale and 
marketing expertise means we are able to 
deliver the certainty of consistent volumes 
of the right mix of enquiries this 
supports our plfs to optimise 
business performance by effectively 
planning budgets and resource 
and managing growth in a 
sustainable way plfs also use 
services from nah such as 
ate insurance and medical 
assessments which help 
them to run cases 
effectively providing an 
additional revenue stream 
for nah 
nah’s national solicitor network comprises four 
panels
personal injury panel covering employment liability occupier liability 
public liability and rta cases
medical negligence panel covering medical negligence cases which are 
more complex and specialised
specialist panel covering a number of different enquiry types which fall 
outside the other panels such as industrial disease and international cases
associate panel this panel does not take enquiries from nah but takes 
products such as ate insurance 
katy philpin
contact centre team manager nahl group plc 12
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
we have achieved positive results in  
a period of considerable change for the 
business we have made good progress 
with our growth strategy supported  
by our first acquisition
we have made positive progress  
in 2014 and despite our leadership 
position the group has plenty of 
opportunity to increase our share  
in a large fragmented market
chief 
executive’s 
review
overview
2014 was an important year for nahl as we 
took the step to become a quoted company 
throughout the year trading remained 
strong and we are delighted to report results 
ahead of market expectations the growth 
achieved is testimony to the professionalism 
of our team and the continued support that 
we receive from our consumers our plfs and 
our partners
the pi market has undoubtedly gone through 
a period of dramatic change in the last few 
years the new regulatory regime is now 
well embedded nah goes from strength to 
strength on the back of a single minded 
approach to serving our plfs and retaining 
our position as the uk’s leading consumer 
business in the pi market our focus on 
quality and our passion for providing access 
to justice for those with a valid injury claim 
remains at the core of our proposition
results
for the past 20 years we have been 
committed to our ethical approach in a 
challenging sector 2014 saw a significant 
growth in the nah business with a 153 
increase in enquiries driving a 104 
increase in revenue and a 293 operating 
profit improvement this growth resulted 
from improved operational efficiency more 
effective marketing and an increase in rta 
driven by market consolidation as many 
small claims management companies ceased 
operating in the pi market our brand 
leadership enabled us to take advantage of 
this and increase our share in all of the key 
sectors in which we operate our enquiry 
growth has also been strong in our target 
sectors of nonrta and medical negligence 
which has enabled us to retain the high 
quality mix of enquiries that our plfs value
market overview
the pi market is estimated at £3bn
1
 and has 
approximately one million claims per 
annum the market remains relatively flat 
although medical negligence is growing at 
124
1
 and nonrta at 71
1
 pa the market 
has seen some consolidation however it 
remains fragmented with our overall share 
at an estimated 4
2
 with market shares of 
19
2
 in rta 116 
2
 in nonrta and 58 
2
 
in medical negligence 
russell atkinson
chief executive officer
1 source cru analysis 2014
2 source cru analysis and management estimates 13 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
no 1
nah is the number one daytime tv and 
online spender in the pi sector
 
source neilsen media research 2014
key strengths
nah benefits from a number of 
strengths which make it the ideal 
marketing and services provider for 
legal practices connecting injured 
parties with high quality plfs and 
promoting access to justice within 
the uk
•  market leader which is well 
positioned to benefit from continued 
consolidation
•  well recognised trusted brand 
supported by differentiated 
marketing established through 
more than £200 million of media 
spend since 1993
•  brand media spend marketing 
knowhow and plf relationships 
that act as barriers to entry
•  focused on the highest growth 
segments of a large fragmented 
market
•  strong financial performance 
supported by high cash generation 
and a robust balance sheet
•  experienced management team with 
proven ability to manage change
1 source independent research the nursery 2014
2 source google december 2014
3 source neilsen media research 2014
brand
the cornerstone of our proposition is the 
nah brand and its underdog character 
which is based on insight into how our 
consumers feel when making a claim 
throughout 2014 we have continued to 
strengthen our position within the pi sector 
as
• the most trusted brand on tv
1
• the most searched for online brand 
by name
2
• the number one daytime tv and overall 
online spender
3
• the number one in internet hits
3
the strength of the brand positioning and in 
particular our trust rating has allowed us to 
continue to lead the way as the market’s 
leading online brand our expertise in 
marketing has helped us to navigate our way 
through the changing media landscape and 
make real progress in seo and social media
for the past 20 years we have been 
committed to the highest ethical standards 
and improving those of the industry in 
which we operate we are particularly 
passionate about our stop nuisance calls 
campaign which we launched during 2014 
and the group remains at the forefront of 
efforts to drive out unsolicited texts and calls 
which our consumers tell us are a real issue 
panel law firms
nah prides itself on the relationships that it 
has with its plfs many dating back over ten 
years throughout 2014 we have continued 
to support our panel of leading specialist 
injury lawyers with data and information 
that will help them to understand best 
practice in running cases this continuing 
investment in data sharing and advice is 
designed to improve our plfs’ profitability 
and further enhance the attractiveness of 
our cases
during 2014 we have evolved and developed 
our plf strategy with increasing enquiries 
we work hard to ensure that we are aligned 
with quality law firms who can handle large 
volumes of caseloads with the highest 
calibre of advice to our consumers whilst 
delivering a cost effective service plfs need 
depth of resources both legal and financial 
to cope with constant growth in volumes 
the success of our plfs is closely entwined 
with our own success and is a significant 
focus of our attention during 2014 the 
average price paid by plfs was down 32
the membership of our panel during 2014 has 
changed in line with our expectations 
although with increasing volumes we are 
beginning to explore new partnering 
arrangements that will allow us to better deal 
with volume growth this allows us to 
develop alternative strategies for dealing 
with high growth in volumes cost effectively 
whilst maintaining the quality of our panel
products
providing first class products and services 
through our key partnership relationships is 
critical to our plfs being able to process the 
case efficiently in particular ate is the 
cornerstone of ‘no win no fee’ and is 
fundamental to the consumer feeling 
confident in progressing a case without risk 
of any legal costs 
the group’s products continue to perform 
broadly in line with our expectations 
although it has become clear that we need to 
adapt our nonmedical negligence ate 
product in the light of postlaspo market 
practices as a result we expect to launch a 
new product in the first half of 2015 that 
should be better suited to current market risk 
and pricing and we expect this will deliver 
increased volumes during the second half of 
the year 
we have also trialled and will shortly be 
launching an enhanced medical negligence 
screening service this service will 
accelerate the case progression and reduce 
cost risk for our plfs bringing more 
certainty to the legal process we expect to 
see material benefit from 2016 nahl group plc 14
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
our values
1 we are curious…
we question the status quo seek to 
understand our customers and resolve 
how we could do things better for them
2 we are driven…
we value achieving results we strive 
to make them happen we want to 
build something meaningful and have 
fun while we do it
3 we are passionate…
we care about what we do and how we 
do it we empathise with our customers 
and keep our promises
4 we are unified…
we are one team committed to acting 
with integrity taking individual 
responsibility for our actions whilst 
trusting and respecting each other
we set ourselves higher 
standards and our values 
are core to what we do 
they distinguish us in our 
sector
our vision
to be the uk’s leading marketing 
and services provider to our 
chosen legal markets
our mission
to be the partner of choice for law 
firms seeking to
 attract and retain customers
 utilise best in class products  
and services and
 optimise business performance
operations
our contact centre in kettering dealt with 
248000 consumer contacts in 2014 2013 
225000 and is the crucial link between the 
consumer and the solicitor that will handle 
their case our ability to filter calls and pass 
on only cases with real merit is critical to the 
value that our plfs get from our relationship
throughout 2014 we have been successful in 
eliminating a larger number of spurious and 
hoax calls whilst increasing the conversion 
of leads to enquiries it is critical that we 
only pass enquiries that have a significant 
chance of success to our panel calls with 
higher chances of success are clearly more 
valuable to our plfs we continue to drive 
improved performance in nah and our plfs
our it team has developed web services 
platforms that result in a seamless 
electronic data transfer for the consumer 
without the need to repeat information to 
the plf this is a key factor in conversion 
improvements and is an area for continued 
development going forward
people
our people are at the heart of what we do and 
fundamental to our continued success our 
employee engagement programme has 
continued throughout 2014 with a number  
of initiatives including
• the launch of our save as you earn 
saye share scheme which was taken up 
by 52 of our staff at the time of ipo
• our biannual employee survey which was 
completed by 89 of staff and showed a 
significant improvement across all 
comparable metrics
• the launch of an awardwinning 
employee benefits programme
• the launch of a new management 
development programme across the 
employee base and a new values 
programme
• the award of the investors in people iip 
standard
i am particularly proud of the effort that we 
put into developing our talent and 
communicating with our team especially as 
they are the first point of contact for our 
consumers
chief executive’s review 
continued
national accident helpline employees in our kettering office 15 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
90
90 of our inbound calls are answered 
within ten seconds
acquisition
the group acquired fitzalan in february 
2015 signalling our commitment to strategic 
growth fitzalan was founded in 2011 and 
provides lead generation services to law 
firms and surveyors in the residential 
conveyancing sector the addition of 
fitzalan to the group allows us to extend our 
reach into broader legal markets and utilise 
our advantage and skill set from the pi 
market to capitalise on the significant 
growth opportunities already identified we 
look forward to the contribution fitzalan will 
make to the wider group and welcome the 
team to nahl 
outlook
we have made good progress throughout 
2014 and we intend to continue this journey 
in 2015 driven by controlled enquiry growth 
and innovative product and service 
development
the pi market remains large and fragmented 
and despite our leadership position the 
group has plenty of opportunity to continue 
increasing its market share and develop our 
product offerings whilst we expect the 
consolidation gains in rta that have 
contributed to the growth in 2014 to have 
been largely realised the opportunity to 
continue to develop our market share in our 
key higher value target segments of 
nonrta and medical negligence remains
the continued development of our plf 
strategy will ensure that we work with high 
quality law firms capable of handling 
increasing numbers of enquiries this will 
ensure we continue to manage volume 
growth
the development of a new ate product and 
the launch of the enhanced medical 
screening service will ensure we continue to 
benefit from good returns in the products 
area
there are no significant planned regulatory 
developments that will have any material 
effect on our progress and our plfs can 
continue to develop their business as a result 
of working with nah the nah brand goes 
from strength to strength and we are 
confident this will cement our leadership 
position even further
russell atkinson
chief executive officer nahl group plc 16
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
nahl is well positioned to take 
advantage of the growth opportunities 
provided by the consumer legal market 
our vision is to be the uk’s leading 
marketing and services provider to our 
chosen legal markets 
strategy  
for growth
strategy
the ipo has positioned nahl well to move into the next phase 
of its growth over the years the group has developed into an 
acknowledged leader in supporting the legal industry by 
attracting consumers assessing their needs and providing 
products and services to support the plf the opportunity 
exists to grow by further enhancing our offerings and 
supporting a wider range of legal markets 
this growth strategy is based upon the following key areas
market  
share  
growth
the legal services market is large and highly fragmented despite its leadership position nahl still has 
 a relatively small market share in both pi and residential conveyancing this gives us the opportunity  
to focus on the key pi growth sectors of nonrta and medical negligence to further increase our share the 
group has historically been stronger in these markets which are perceived as more valuable by our plfs 
further focus on these segments can generate better value from our mix of enquiries
in addition growth opportunities also exist at fitzalan since internet search for conveyancing is at a 
relatively early stage of its development
partnership 
development
over the last 18 months we have been working in partnership with our plfs to develop data sharing across 
the life of the case nah aggregate this data and can use it to share best practice with our partners this 
will increase firm profitability and enhance the value of our enquiries this will allow us to understand the 
return generated by our plfs at a granular level and enable us to target our marketing more efficiently
providing a broader range of legal services to our plfs many of which offer both conveyancing and pi  
will further cement our relationships
product  
and service 
development
extending the range of products and services an important driver of our profitability has a direct impact 
on our results by extending our range of services and optimising our commercial arrangements we can 
further develop this part of our business 
throughout 2014 we have been developing and testing a new type of medical negligence screening service 
which will significantly reduce case lengths handling costs and settlement times for these extremely 
complex cases initial trials have proved successful and this service will gradually be rolled out in 2015
we have also been investigating the opportunity to aggregate volume of quasi administrative tasks that 
our pi plfs currently perform these can be outsourced to the group and completed at a lower cost than an 
individual firm could negotiate during 2014 we rolled out our enhanced capture service which takes more 
data during the initial call and prepares it for our plfs this has the benefit of increasing conversion of 
enquiries as the consumer experience is seamless and the solicitor has knowledge of the consumer thus 
avoiding repetitive questions
fitzalan presents further exciting opportunities to provide added value services to specialist areas of the 
residential legal services sector
targeted 
acquisitions
a key benefit of our plc status is the ability to utilise the cash generated in the business to fund 
acquisitions nahl will continue to focus on a small number of rightsized incomegenerative  
acquisitions that either add value to our core pi business or enable us to extend into related areas of 
consumer law where we can replicate our model in different markets as we have done with fitzalan 17 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
the acquisition of fitzalan represents the 
group’s first move into an adjacent 
consumer legal services market fitzalan 
was founded in 2011 out of fridays 
property lawyers and is based in hatton 
garden london
the company is an online marketing 
specialist targeting home buyers and 
sellers in england and wales through its 
four webbased platforms fridaysmove 
indeed surveyor local and homeward 
legal through these platforms  
fitzalan generates confirmed leads  
for conveyancing and home surveys  
in england and wales and offers  
these to plfs and panel surveyors
the success of the business model lies in 
fitzalan’s expertise in marketing to a large 
number of consumers processing 
incoming enquiries through a full sales 
cycle and converting these into confirmed 
instructions rather than the partially 
qualified leads typical of the rest of the 
market the conveyancing and surveying 
panel firms prefer to concentrate on their 
core skills and benefit from the expertise 
of fitzalan’s marketing and sales 
capability rather than try to do this 
themselves in many respects this 
proposition is similar to the benefit that 
nah offers in the pi market
customers are attracted to the proposition 
due to the assurance provided in dealing 
with the company’s brands
• highly competitive fixed fees on 
conveyancing transactions
• enhanced service features such as 
search plus protection and no sale  
no fee
• quality assurance through a 
comprehensive plf service  
level agreement
• service mediation in the event of  
client complaints
• advice and information on the 
conveyancing and surveying process
fitzalan currently generates enquiries  
in the form of incoming calls online 
callback requests and specific leads 
generated by its web quote engines 
confirmed conveyancing instructions 
from consumers are then passed to one of 
over 50 plfs who pay fitzalan a 
marketing fee per instruction additional 
revenue is generated through agreements 
that fitzalan has with related suppliers 
such as search and surveyor companies 
who deliver complementary services 
which facilitate the customer instruction
fitzalan’s surveyor panel comprises 
around 150 firms of royal institute of 
chartered surveyors rics qualified 
surveyors the business markets home 
buyer reports and building surveys to 
both buyers and sellers and provides its 
survey panel with a steady controllable 
workflow allowing them to plan their 
workload efficiently
the acquisition of fitzalan has a powerful 
strategic rationale
• it broadens nahl’s portfolio by 
providing access to a new market 
within consumer legal services
• nahl has a similar but more mature 
business model and can generate real 
value by bringing their experience to 
bear in refining and extending 
fitzalan’s operations
• there are opportunities to use nahl’s 
core skill sets and resources to grow a 
closely related business
despite the fact that there were over 12m
1
 
residential property transactions in 2014 
both the conveyancing and the home 
surveying markets are fragmented  
there is significant potential to continue 
to grow fitzalan’s market share which is 
less than 1 and at the same time 
develop new sources of business that can 
significantly enhance both market share 
and bottom line growth in future years
fitzalan partners acquisition
we make the legal side simple
1 source land registry data 2014
“superb service extremely competitive was kept up  
to date at every step and always returned my calls if  
i couldn’t reach you would definitely recommend to 
anyone involved in a sale or purchase or both 5 star ”
mr michael and mrs sharon r
fridaysmove nahl group plc 18
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
we are pleased to report a strong set of 
results with good growth in enquiries 
revenue and profit
nahl’s business model is very cash 
generative and we continue to return 
operating cash in excess of 90 of 
operating profits
chief 
financial 
officer’s  
review
trading results
2014
£m 
2013
£m 
operating profit 
excluding share
based payments 
oneoff items and 
prelaspo ate 127 98 
sharebased payments 03 –
oneoff items 06 –
prelaspo ate 
operating profit – 94 
total operating profit 118 192 
financial income 06 03 
financial expense 03 48
profit before tax 121 147 
operating profit from continuing activities and 
before sharebased payments oneoff items 
and prelaspo ate increased by 293 to 
£127m this was driven by good revenue 
growth and an improvement in our gross profit 
margins efficient marketing improved 
performance from seo and an increase in the 
number of enquiries due in part to market 
consolidation in rta allowed us to reduce the 
cost per enquiry to our plfs by 32 yet still 
enjoy an increase in the overall gross margin 
from 419 to 455
our business model and control of central 
costs ensures that increases in gross margin 
convert well into operating profit and as a 
result our return on sales increased from 
247 to 290 we remain on track to 
achieve our target of 30
after allowing for sharebased payments 
oneoff ipo related items and financial 
income and expense the business returned a 
profit before tax of £121m which is ahead of 
market expectations
taxation
the group’s tax charge of £26m represents an 
effective tax rate etr of 215 2013 
299 the 84 percentage point decrease in 
the etr represents a combination of reduced 
tax rates in the uk the repayment of loan 
notes in 2013 which were not fully deductable 
and £480k of financial income in 2014 which 
is not a taxable income to the group
earnings per share eps and dividend
basic eps is calculated on the total profit of 
the group and most closely relates to the 
ongoing cash which will be attributable to 
shareholders and in turn the group’s ability 
to fund its dividend programme the 
remuneration committee uses the same 
metric in assessing the remuneration of its 
executive directors see remuneration 
report the group also has a number of share 
options outstanding see note 19 of the 
financial statements which results in a 
diluted eps 
steve dolton
chief financial officer 19 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
293
underlying operating profit of £127m 
increased by 293
basic eps for the year was 206p 2013 
230p the reduction is as a result of the 
prelaspo ate profits and diluted eps  
was 202p 2013 225p 
the directors have proposed a final dividend 
of 107p reflecting the group’s stated policy of 
paying out two thirds of its retained earnings 
the ability to pay this level of dividend is due 
to the solid financial performance for the year 
a robust balance sheet with positive net cash 
and the ongoing cash generative nature of the 
business with the 50p interim dividend paid 
in october 2014 the fullyear dividend will be 
157p the fullyear dividend per share is 
covered 15 times by the continuing 
operations eps of 230p
operating cash generation
2014
£m 
 
2013
£m 
operating profit 
excluding share
based payments 
oneoff items and 
prelaspo ate 127 98
depreciation 02 02 
working capital 
movements 
excluding 
discontinued 
activities 05 04
net operating 
cash generated 
from operating 
activities 124  104 
net operating 
cash generated as 
a percentage of 
operating profits 976 1063
nahl’s business model is very cash 
generative and we continue to return an 
operating cash conversion in excess of 90 
of operating profits in 2014 the level was 
976 2013 1063 a major factor in our 
conversion is that our solicitor income is 
fully paid by direct debit within the month of 
invoice and our commissions earned on our 
product offerings are also received in a 
timely manner
balance sheet 
2014
£m 
2013
£m 
net assets 
goodwill 399 399
adjusted net cash
cash and cash 
equivalents 136 142
borrowings  59   69 
other payables 
relating to 
discontinued pre
laspo ate product   65   121 
total adjusted net 
cash 12  48 
other net liabilities  49   49 
total net assets 362 302 
the group’s net assets at 31 december 2014 
were £362m 2013 £302m reflecting the 
retained earnings for the year and the 
changes in the financial structure 
implemented as part of the ipo
the significant balance sheet items are 
goodwill adjusted net cash which includes 
cash and cash equivalents borrowings and 
other payables relating to a legacy prelaspo 
ate product and other net liabilities 
goodwill
the group’s goodwill of £399m 2013 
£399m arises from the business acquisition 
of nah management reviewed the goodwill 
value for impairment as at 31 december 2014 
and believes there are no indications of 
impairment 
adjusted net cash
the group considers that its adjusted net 
cash comprises cash and cash equivalents 
other interestbearing loans and borrowings 
and other payables relating to legacy 
prelaspo ate product at 31 december 
2014 adjusted net cash was £12m  
2013 adjusted net debt £48m 
cash and cash equivalents
at 31 december 2014 the group had £136m 
of cash and cash equivalents 2013 £142m 
since the year end the group has utilised 
£30m of this to fund the initial consideration 
for the acquisition of fitzalan with a  
further amount of up to £13m to be paid by  
31 december 2015 but still retains a healthy 
level of cash all of the group’s cash is held  
in its trading entities and the group takes 
advantage of medium term deposit rates in 
maximising its interest returns
borrowings
at 31 december 2014 the group had £59m of 
other interestbearing loans and borrowings 
2013 £69m the group refinanced its 
borrowing arrangements during the year  
as follows
date due £m
31 december 2015 295
31 december 2016 295
the current rate of interest payable on these 
borrowings is 25 above libor
other payables relating to a discontinued 
prelaspo ate product
at 31 december 2014 the group had £65m of 
other payables relating to a legacy prelaspo 
ate product 2013 £121m this amount is 
repayable to allianz for previously received 
commissions when certain of the policies 
either fail or are abandoned the provision is 
calculated using actuarial rates and is likely  
to be materially repaid by the end of 2016
equity restructure
it is the board’s intention at its agm to seek 
shareholder approval to restructure its 
merger reserve and share premium accounts 
through the normal court procedures  
this ensures that the group has maximum 
flexibility to access reserves within the 
group to support its future dividend policy nahl group plc 20
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
enquiries £‘000s
0
10
20
30
40
50
group revenues £m
0
5
10
15
20
25
underlying operating proﬁt £m net debt £m and cash conversion 
group revenues £m
50
75
100
125
0
10
20
30
40
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013
25
27
28
27
183
194
161
190
208
221
189
217
total 
rta 
nonrta
med neg 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
total 
solicitors 
income 
products 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
54
48
20
12
66 61 50 48
debt
cash
cash 
conversion
 
enquiries £‘000s
0
10
20
30
40
50
group revenues £m
0
5
10
15
20
25
underlying operating proﬁt £m net debt £m and cash conversion 
group revenues £m
50
75
100
125
0
10
20
30
40
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013
25
27
28
27
183
194
161
190
208
221
189
217
total 
rta 
nonrta
med neg 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
total 
solicitors 
income 
products 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
54
48
20
12
66 61 50 48
debt
cash
cash 
conversion
 
enquiries £‘000s
0
10
20
30
40
50
group revenues £m
0
5
10
15
20
25
underlying operating proﬁt £m net debt £m and cash conversion 
group revenues £m
50
75
100
125
0
10
20
30
40
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013
25
27
28
27
183
194
161
190
208
221
189
217
total 
rta 
nonrta
med neg 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
total 
solicitors 
income 
products 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
54
48
20
12
66 61 50 48
debt
cash
cash 
conversion
 
key performance indicators
enquiries 000s
enquiries are the basis of generating solicitor income revenue 
and ultimately additional product revenue
during h1 2013 the business changed its approach as a result of 
laspo and focused on generating a more cost efficient level of 
enquiries having introduced this strategy the group then saw a 
good increase in enquiries in 2014 up 153 on 2013 as a result 
of marketing efficiencies and market consolidation
total
rta
nonrta
med neg
group operating profit £m and operating profit return  net debtcash £m and cash conversion 
operating profit is a key measure for the group the group 
measures this by the sectors of solicitor income products 
and then in total after the allocation of group costs
the group has enjoyed consistent growth in its operating 
profit and has seen its overall return on revenue increase 
from 230 in h1 2013 and 247 in 2013 full year to 
306 in h2 2014 and 290 in 2014 full year
the business continues to have a very strong operational 
cash generation conversion 2014 976 2013 1063 and 
as a result has seen an improvement in overall net cash 
from £48m net debt in december 2013 to £12m net cash in 
december 2014 the group continues to target its overall 
operating cash generation in excess of 90
debt operating  
profit
cash
operating
cash 
operating
profit
return 
group revenues £m
revenue is earned from solicitor income the charge to plfs for 
providing a postcode exclusive transfer of enquiries and products 
used by plfs to operate the cases ate medicals costs 
 
during 2014 the business saw the benefit of the increase in enquiry 
volumes with h2 revenue 152 up on the same period in the prior 
year product revenue has remained relatively flat mainly due to the 
expected decline in products impacted by laspo ongoing products 
have grown 112 year on year
enquiries £‘000s
0
10
20
30
40
50
group revenues £m
0
5
10
15
20
25
underlying operating proﬁt £m net debt £m and cash conversion 
group revenues £m
50
75
100
125
0
10
20
30
40
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013
25
27
28
27
183
194
161
190
208
221
189
217
total 
rta 
nonrta
med neg 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
total 
solicitors 
income 
products 
h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014 h1 2013 h1 2014 h2 2013 h2 2014
54
48
20
12
66 61 50 48
debt
cash
cash 
conversion
 
products
solicitor  
income 
the group has performed well in 2014 and has a robust balance sheet with adjusted net cash our strong cash generation metrics mean we 
will continue to have good levels of cash in order to fund our stated dividend policy and to acquire good earnings accretive businesses in the 
legal services market
steve dolton
chief financial officer  21 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
the board has ultimate responsibility for setting the group’s risk appetite and for effective management of risk an annual assessment of 
key risks is performed by the executive directors and presented to the board a risk register is maintained and regularly reviewed by the 
executive directors all risks take into consideration the likelihood of the event occurring and the impact of that event once the risks have 
been assessed appropriate mitigation actions are determined for each key risk identified
the following sets out the group’s 
principal risks that the board considers  
may have a material impact on the 
group’s financial performance
risks
principal risk description mitigation
regulatory
the group and its plfs are subject to an extensive 
regulatory and legal framework this includes the need to 
comply with the provisions of the laspo and regulation by 
either the claims management regulation unit cmru or 
the solicitors regulation authority sra regulations and 
laws are open to change and in the event either the group or 
its plfs fails to make the necessary changes then corrective 
action may be required
the group will continue to monitor regulatory and legal 
developments and use these to underpin its strategic and 
competitive response and ensure compliance with its 
obligations it will also continue to work with its plfs to ensure 
they comply with relevant regulations the business model has 
proven to be adaptable and resilient to change over a number of 
years and the business has continued to develop through the 
various regulatory changes
market and 
competition
the group operates in a competitive market and although a 
number of competitors have left the market in 2014 the 
group could still face competition from other consumer 
marketing businesses in the legal services market the 
group is also reliant on the pi sector for the majority of its 
revenue and profits
the group has historically taken market share and with its 
strong brand and leadership positions acting as a continued 
barrier to entry the group will continue to compete effectively 
against the competition the recent acquisition of fitzalan 
supports the group’s strategy to develop into other chosen legal 
markets through targeted acquisitions which helps to mitigate 
its reliance on the pi sector
plfs
the group is dependent upon its plfs to take its enquiries 
each month and to pay for these enquiries prior to the 
satisfactory completion of the case by the plf any 
termination by the plf of this relationship or any significant 
change in the financial situation of the plf could have a 
material impact on the financial performance of the group
the group continues to provide its plfs with high quality 
enquiries that ensure the plf maximises its financial 
performance the group has a number of panel relationships and 
ensures that no single plf accounts for more than 20 of the 
group’s business each month the group continues to explore new 
plf relationships to ensure there is a replacement plf available 
in the event of termination of any existing relationship
reliance on 
tv and 
online 
marketing
the group relies upon its tv and online marketing strategy 
to retain its market leading position in the pi sector any 
significant change in technology cost increases changes to 
search engine algorithms or terms of services could impact 
the group’s ability to maintain its high rankings on search 
results and ultimately lead it to having to spend more 
resource and expenditure to meet its financial results
the group has extensive experience of managing its 
marketing strategy through a combination of internal 
marketing experts and external agencies the relationships 
with the external agencies go back many years and ensure 
the group has flexibility and the speed required to react to  
the potential risks outlined
brand 
reputation
the group’s success and results are dependent in part on the 
strength and reputation of the group and its nah brand the 
group relies on its brands which includes nah and on its 
advertising character the underdog and is exposed to the 
risk of the brand being tarnished via any significant adverse 
publicity
brand performance is tracked and measured on an ongoing basis 
to ensure that it remains ahead of competitors and delivers 
compelling messages which drive consumer contacts the 
group is also active in public affairs and thought leadership 
effectively lobbying in areas of importance to the sector 
demonstrated through activities such as the stop nuisance 
calls campaign this ensures the group maintains its brand 
trust ratings and its reputation
dependence 
on key 
personnel
the group’s future growth and success depends in part 
upon the leadership and performance of its executive 
directors and senior management team the loss of any key 
individual or the inability to attract appropriate personnel 
could impact on its ability to execute its business strategy 
successfully which could negatively impact upon the group’s 
future performance
the group maintains competitive and attractive employment 
terms and conditions fully empowering key individuals and 
allowing them to maximise their job satisfaction the group 
incentivises key management through annual incentive plans 
in the short term and through share options for medium and 
longterm retention nahl group plc 22
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
nahl never cold calls or cold texts and has campaigned against nuisance marketing for many years
our independent research 
shows that millions of uk 
consumers are plagued by 
nuisance calls and two 
thirds do not know where to 
turn to stop them
the real cost of personal injury
a national accident helpline report 
we take our role as an 
ethical business and 
consumer champion  
very seriously and have 
taken positive steps  
in 2014 to enhance our 
thought leadership status 
and reinforce the vital 
requirement for legitimate 
access to justice
russell atkinson
chief executive
81 73 66
as an ethical market leader the group 
sets the standards in our chosen markets 
and in so doing acts in the best interest 
of our consumers panel law firms and 
our shareholders 
thought 
leadership
of the population receive 
cold calls regularly
of people do not think 
the government is doing 
enough to prevent cold 
calls
of people are not 
confident they know 
where to report cold calls
corporate social responsibility 23 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
standards for the industry
it is vital that we establish our thought 
leadership status particularly in the pi 
sector where misperceptions persist and  
can undermine the valuable role that ethical 
companies like nah play in helping genuine 
injury victims access justice we welcome 
proportionate regulation that reduces fraud 
but does not inhibit access to justice and 
have lobbied government and worked 
alongside regulators to effect positive 
change for our consumers and industry  
in 2014 we launched two strategic 
communications campaigns ‘the real cost 
of injury’ and ‘stop nuisance calls’ which 
focused on the plight of uk consumers and 
reinforced our role as a consumer champion 
we proactively encourage our sector and 
other industries to act with integrity as 
demonstrated in our stop nuisance calls 
campaign 
access to justice
people who have suffered a personal injury 
through no fault of their own should be 
entitled to redress which helps them to 
resume their life and work in so far as is 
possible our research shows that 81
1
 of 
personal injury victims used their 
compensation to offset losses or costs 
associated with their injury
the pi sector is subject to unjustified 
negative misperceptions which hinder 
access to justice for legitimate claimants 
and as a marketleader we believe it is 
important to draw attention to the plight  
of these individuals
nah helps over 200000 people every year to 
understand whether they have a legitimate 
claim we sift out two thirds of the consumer 
contacts made to us each year and only pass 
the remaining enquiries on to our plfs it is 
not in our interest nor that of our plfs to 
proceed with cases which do not have merit
the impact of personal injury
in april 2014 we commissioned independent 
research to inform our report on the real 
cost of personal injury and it was clear that 
the impact of a personal injury goes beyond 
inconvenience and physical pain to 
significant financial and emotional hardship 
the impact is not limited just to the 
individual it extends to families and 
coworkers with more than two thirds of 
work colleagues citing that they are affected 
if a colleague suffers a personal injury our 
research showed that 88 of 1824 year olds 
who suffered a personal injury lost earnings 
as a result and almost a third were worried 
about losing their job 
despite media and government concerns 
over a compensation culture our research
1
 
has revealed these fears to be overstated and 
at worst discourage genuine claimants from 
seeking the justice they deserve the 
positive effect of financial compensation for 
an individual is relatively easy to measure 
but the psychological benefits of the right 
kind of legal and rehabilitation support are 
harder to quantify
nah effectively used the real cost of 
personal injury report to initiate discussions 
with both the media and key stakeholders to 
highlight the plight of the personal injury 
victim and why it is important they get 
access to the justice they deserve
nah has never used cold calls or  
spam texts to attract new consumers and 
is fully aware how frustrating intrusive 
and often distressing these calls can be 
unfortunately some other companies  
do use these underhanded techniques 
and we even receive complaints from 
consumers who have been targeted by 
cold calls and texts from companies 
purporting to be nah we take these 
matters very seriously and report all 
incidents to the appropriate authorities
in october 2014 we commissioned an 
independent survey which revealed that 
uk consumers don’t know where to turn 
when they become a victim of nuisance 
calls and texts as a result we introduced 
a threestep campaign stop nuisance 
calls calling upon the government to
1 set up a onestop complaints 
process to clarify how to stop 
unwanted cold calls and make an 
effective complaint
2 take stronger legal action  
against cold calls coming from 
international numbers alongside 
ongoing work to ensure regulators 
can prosecute domestic cold calls 
more effectively and
3 enforce simple clear and consistent 
‘optins’ to email marketing or calls 
that don’t trick or confuse consumers
we are pleased to see that on  
25 february 2015 the government 
lowered the threshold required for the 
information commissioner’s office 
ico to impose fines and increase 
penalties for cold calling offenders
1 source the real cost of personal injury report 2014 nahl group plc 24
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
“ i’ve worked for national accident helpline for over 1 2 years and feel a great sense of pride  
from helping others during my time here the personal injury sector has changed but the  
regular training and coaching sessions i receive enable me to develop my skills and knowledge  
to ensure i can continue to listen to and support our consumers in the right way people tell us  
what a difference we make to their recovery journey and that is really satisfying”
  riv singh
legal service advisor
our people are the foundation of  
the group’s success and we recognise 
that employee development is vital  
to continue our growth 
our people
growing our future leaders and 
nurturing our resources
in 2014 we launched an employee 
development programme following the 
principles of the institute of leadership and 
management ilm the 18month 
programme is a combination of internal 
coaching and training with external 
tutoring and is assessed through practical 
coaching and theory based assignments
the programme ensures we build our talent 
pool from within reinvesting time and money 
in the business through our people other 
benefits include improvements in thought 
leadership and innovation and enhanced 
productivity and capability
across the three tiers of the programme ilm 
level 3 4 and 5 certificates we are currently 
developing nine of our potential future 
leaders giving them the skills that bring 
value to them and our business
this focus on development extends 
throughout the workforce with on the job 
training coaching and mentoring central to 
the progress of our people starting with a 
comprehensive induction programme we 
equip our people with the skills required to 
ensure they are making a valuable 
contribution from day one our lsas and 
contact centre employees progress through  
a variety of training modules and 
environments coaching skills and 
knowledge assessments we monitor their 
ongoing performance through a customer 
experience scoring system developed in 
conjunction with employees the system is a 
positive coaching tool that sets clear delivery 
expectations across the entire consumer 
journey
our senior managers receive regular coaching 
sessions to ensure they remain expert in their 
field and are skilled at leading their people to 
success this is carried out on a onetoone 
basis and addresses key leadership 
capabilities and performance 
in our 2014 employee opinion survey 89 
response rate the strength of our senior 
leaders was recognised with 93 of 
respondents having confidence in the 
leadership skills within the business
investing in our people
at the beginning of 2015 we received our 
investors in people accreditation this is a 
rigorous objective assessment of how we 
lead manage develop and communicate with 
our people and measures it against best 
practice standards
the group is focused on continuous 
improvement and has embarked on a 
development plan dedicated to maintaining 
this standard and ensuring that as an 
employer we can continue to attract retain 
and develop talent
creating a great place to work
our employees are fully committed to our 
code of conduct ensuring that we deliver to 
the highest standards of honesty integrity 
respect and fairness when dealing with each 
other our consumers partners and suppliers
we have a strong team ethos across the 
business and are focused on creating a great 
place to work for our people our corporate 
values underpin how we do business and 
encourage a curious driven passionate and 
unified workforce we encourage diversity 
across gender ethnicity and age range and 
have built a diverse lively workforce
a culture of recognising our people and 
celebrating success is key to ensuring our 
people feel valued for the work they do great 
behaviours are recognised through our values 
champion recognition scheme as well as 
rewards through prize draws incentives and 
social events our new cashback and 
discounts reward package was winner of a 
reward gateway benefits excellence award 
in 2014 in recognition of the targeted 
approach we took to developing the scheme 
for our workforce based on their needs
corporate social responsibility 25 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
i was delighted to be 
selected for the employee 
development programme 
it’s a great opportunity to 
learn more about the 
business and invest in my 
career at national accident 
helpline i’m gaining 
valuable skills and 
knowledge which i will be 
able to give back to the 
business in the future
kelly affronti
legal and compliance officer
employee survey highlights 2014
have confidence in the 
leadership skills across the 
company
93
believe that the company 
makes a positive difference to 
others
89
are happy with how senior 
leaders seek their views
87
feel loyal to the company
84 nahl group plc 26
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
giving something back is important to 
our employees and they have always 
been enthusiastic about volunteering  
and raising money for charity 
our 
community
the support of national accident 
helpline has been fantastic by raising 
over £10000 in 2014 they’ve helped us to 
fund six lifesaving missions without 
fundraising efforts i wouldn’t be able to 
get to the people who need help the 
most sometimes following horrific 
accidents it’s company donations and 
support that keep our helicopters flying
paul hogan
pilot the air ambulance service
corporate social responsibility 27 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
team challenge
one of the highlight events within our 
fundraising plans for 2014 was the way 
of the roses cycle challenge a team of 
eight riders including chief executive 
russell atkinson cycled a gruelling 167 
miles from morecombe to bridlington 
over three days
 
the ride covered quaint riverside trails 
and strenuous climbs in the yorkshire 
dales by the end of the challenge on day 
three our team had braved the weather 
overcome bike failures and repairs and 
had raised over £1000 towards our 
£10000 target for the year
supporting our community
in 2014 our employees voted 
overwhelmingly to support the air 
ambulance service including the 
warwickshire  northamptonshire air 
ambulance wnaa derbyshire 
leicestershire  rutland air ambulance and 
the national children’s air ambulance 
over the past year we have formed a 
successful working partnership with the air 
ambulance service which saw over £10000 
raised in 2014 by giving their time and 
fundraising for this worthwhile cause our 
employees exceeded our target and helped to 
keep the helicopters flying in total the 
money we’ve raised to date will cover the 
cost of six lifesaving missions 
when it came to showing their support our 
employees took part in a range of creative 
fun and challenging activities from dragon 
boat racing endurance events and cycle 
challenges to cake baking competitions and 
quiz nights
team spirit
every employee supported the air 
ambulance service in one way or another 
throughout the year with over two thirds of 
employees taking part in a fundraising event 
or challenge themselves
in autumn 2014 two teams of employees 
went headtohead as well as against other 
companies in the big £50 business 
challenge hosted across northamptonshire 
the competing teams each sponsored by an 
executive director started with just £50 
cash and used their commercial 
entrepreneurial and innovation skills to 
multiply their cash in aid of the air 
ambulance service our teams raised £1500 
and won the enterprise special recognition 
and entrepreneur of the year awards
continuing the support
our support for the air ambulance service 
will continue into 2015 with new challenges 
and enthusiastic involvement from our 
people we will also enhance our 
participation in the local communities where 
we operate and we intend to engage with 
local education business and charities
in 2014 we asked employees for ideas on how 
to engage more with our local community 
following a shortlisting process we chose to 
explore a partnership with local education 
which will see us share the skills and 
expertise of our people with young people 
preparing to enter the world of business 
£10000
we raised over £10000 for  
the air ambulance service in 2014 nahl group plc 28
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
board of  
directors
steve dolton 
chief financial officer
steve halbert 
chairman
russell atkinson 
chief executive officer
gillian kent
nonexecutive director
 s a m a n t h a p o r te o u s 
nonexecutive director 29 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
steve halbert
chairman
steve halbert is nonexecutive chairman  
of the group which he joined in 2010  
steve is chair of the audit committee and 
nomination committee and has over 25 
years’ board experience
steve is also chairman of safestyle uk plc an 
aimquoted retailer and manufacturer of 
replacement doors and windows
prior to this steve held various board 
positions including chairman of united 
house nonexecutive director at 
employment services holdings and 
executive chairman of gva prior to this  
steve worked as a senior corporate financier 
for 15 years at kpmg uk
he is a qualified chartered accountant and is 
a fellow of the icaew
russell atkinson
chief executive officer
russell atkinson became chief executive 
officer of nahl following admission he 
joined the company in 2012 as managing 
director of national accident helpline and 
had a pivotal role in implementing its strategy 
postlaspo
his responsibilities include developing and 
implementing the groupwide strategy and 
ensuring delivery of budgeted financial 
performance
prior to joining nahl russell held managing 
director roles at international firms including 
uk managing director of lebara mobile 
limited managing director of blackhawk 
network uk limited a division of safeway 
inc and director of epayments at travelex
russell holds a bachelor of arts from leicester 
polytechnic and a diploma in marketing from 
the chartered institute of marketing
steve dolton
chief financial officer
steve dolton is chief financial officer of the 
group having joined in 2012 
his responsibilities include overall 
management of the finance function within 
the group and liaising with the group’s 
investors and the banks
steve has over 20 years’ experience as 
finance director prior to joining nahl he 
was chief financial officer of several 
companies including nsl services group 
azzurri communications limited 
safetykleen group european operations 
and walker dickson group limited prior to 
that steve worked in various financial roles 
with peek plc including a twoyear period in 
asia as regional controller
he is a qualified chartered accountant and 
has been a member of the icaew since 1989 
having qualified with grant thornton llp he 
is a fellow of the institute of directors in the 
uk and holds a bachelor of arts from 
huddersfield polytechnic
samantha porteous
nonexecutive director
samantha porteous became a nonexecutive 
director on admission and is currently also 
chair of the remuneration committee prior 
to this she was ceo of nah ltd from 2009 to 
2011 and then group ceo until the ipo 
she joined the group in 2006 as finance 
director after the ldc management buyout 
prior to this she held a number of senior finance 
roles at nexus media ltd thomson scientific 
ltd part of the publicly listed company 
thomson reuters and reed elsevier
samantha is a fellow of the chartered institute 
of management accountants cima
gillian kent 
nonexecutive director
gillian kent became nonexecutive director 
in november 2014
gillian is a cofounder of private company 
skadoosh where she remains as chief 
executive officer and is also an independent 
nonexecutive director at pendragon plc
her executive career in the digital and online 
sectors includes senior roles at microsoft 
where she was managing director of its 
largest online business in the uk msn uk 
gillian has also served as chief executive 
officer and digital consultant at gk 
associates chief executive officer at 
propertyfindercom and director of strategy 
and business development at microsoft 
msn
with effect from the 2015 annual general 
meeting gillian will chair nahl’s 
remuneration committee nahl group plc 30
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
directors’ report
the directors of nahl group plc present their annual report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2014 
results and dividend
the group’s profit after tax for continuing operations for the year was £95m 2013 £103m
the directors propose a final dividend of 107p per share 2013 £nil which subject to approval at the annual general meeting will be paid on 
29 may 2015 to shareholders registered on 24 april 2015
details of significant events affecting the company and group since the balance sheet date are given in note 27 to the financial statements  
a fair review of the business including future developments is included in the strategic report on pages 1 to 27
directors’ third party indemnity provisions
the company maintained during the period and to the date of approval of the financial statements indemnity insurance for its directors and 
officers against liability in respect of proceedings brought by third parties subject to the terms and conditions of the companies act 2006
capital structure
details of the capital structure can be found in note 18 of the consolidated financial statements the company has employee share option 
plans in place full details of which can be found in note 19 to the financial statements
financial instruments
the group’s principal financial instruments comprise cash and cash equivalents other receivables interestbearing loans and trade payables 
further details on financial instruments are given in note 21 to the financial statements
directors
biographies of the present directors of the company are listed on page 29
details of the remuneration of the directors is disclosed in the remuneration report on pages 33 to 38
political donations
no political donations were made during the year or the previous year
disclosure of information to the auditor
each of the persons who is a director at the date of approval of this annual report confirms that
• so far as the director is aware there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditor is unaware and
• the director has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that the company’s auditor is aware of that information
this confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the companies act 2006
auditor
kpmg llp have been appointed as auditor and have expressed their willingness to continue in office as auditor and a resolution to reappoint 
them will be proposed at the forthcoming annual general meeting
other information
an indication of likely future developments in the business and particulars of significant events which have occured since the end of the year 
have been included in the strategic report on pages 1 to 27
going concern
the group’s business activities together with risk factors which impact these activities are included within the chief financial officer’s 
review on pages 18 to 20 the financial position of the group its cash flows liquidity position and borrowing facilities are also described in 
the chief financial officer’s review having regard to the matters above and after making reasonable enquiries the directors have a 
reasonable expectation that the company and the group have adequate resources to continue operations for the foreseeable future for that 
reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in the preparation of the accounts
approved by the board of directors and signed on behalf of the board
steve dolton
chief financial officer
23 march 2015 31 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
corporate governance report
the uk corporate governance code
companies listed on the main market of the london stock exchange are required to comply with the uk corporate governance code nahl 
group plc’s shares are traded on aim and as such the company is not subject to the requirements of the uk corporate governance code on 
corporate governance nor is it required to disclose its specific policies in relation to corporate governance
however as a publicly quoted company the company will maintain appropriate standards of corporate governance the uk corporate 
governance code represents the ‘gold standard’ however the uk corporate governance code was not designed with smaller companies in 
mind adherence to the full uk corporate governance code is often impractical for smaller companies in the past in the absence of an 
alternative code many aim companies have adopted the uk corporate governance code ‘to the extent applicable’
in july 2005 the qca introduced a simple set of guidelines for corporate governance for aim companies which were updated in july 2007 and 
again in september 2010 according to the qca the guidelines have been devised in consultation with a number of significant institutional 
smaller company investors
the directors recognise the importance of sound corporate governance and the company holds membership of the qca and complies with 
the qca guidelines and the main provisions of the uk corporate governance code insofar as is practicable to do so for a company of nahl 
group plc’s current size and stage of development save in relation to certain directors who will not be independent because of the grant or 
proposed grant of options to them by the company
the board of directors operates within the framework described below
table of committees
the board is responsible for formulating reviewing and approving the company’s strategy budgets and corporate actions board meetings 
are held at least every two months and at such other times as the directors deem necessary
the company has appointed steve halbert as the company’s senior independent nonexecutive director the board has created a 
remuneration committee an audit committee and a nomination committee where the current composition and responsibilities of the 
committees are as follows
audit committee
the audit committee consists of steve halbert as chairman gillian kent and samantha porteous it meets at least twice each year and is 
responsible for ensuring that the financial performance of the company is properly monitored and reported on and for meeting with the 
auditor and reviewing findings of the audit with the external auditor it is authorised to seek any information it properly requires from any 
employee and may ask questions of any employee it meets with the auditor at least twice a year and is also responsible for considering and 
making recommendations regarding the identity and remuneration of such auditor
remuneration committee
the remuneration committee consists of samantha porteous as chairman steve halbert and gillian kent gillian kent will replace 
samantha porteous as chairman after the agm it meets at least once each year and considers and recommends to the board the framework 
for the remuneration of the executive directors of the company and any other senior management it further considers and recommends to 
the board the total individual remuneration package of each executive director including bonuses incentive payments and share options or 
other share awards in addition subject to existing contractual obligations it reviews the structure of all share incentive plans for approval 
by the board and for each such plan recommends whether awards are made and if so the overall amount of such awards the individual 
awards to executive directors and the performance targets to be used no director is involved in decisions concerning his own remuneration
nomination committee
the nomination committee consists of steve halbert as chairman samantha porteous and gillian kent the nomination committee meets 
at least once each year and considers the selection and reappointment of directors it identifies and nominates candidates to all board 
vacancies and regularly reviews the structure size and composition of the board including the skills knowledge and experience and makes 
recommendations to the board with regard to any changes the company has adopted a share dealing code based on the aim rules and the 
company takes all proper and reasonable steps to ensure compliance by the directors and relevant employees
the board is also responsible for ensuring the company’s compliance with all applicable anticorruption legislation including but not limited to 
the uk bribery act 2010 and the us foreign corrupt practices act 1977 the company complies and always has complied with all applicable 
anticorruption laws in view of the requirement in the uk bribery act 2010 for relevant companies to have adequate antibribery procedures 
the company has devised and implemented a suite of anticorruption policies and procedures designed to prevent corruption by anyone working 
on its behalf the company has adopted a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to corruption and is committed to ethical business practices nahl group plc 32
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
corporate governance report continued
the board of directors
director date appointed
remuneration
committee
audit
committee
nomination
committee
russell atkinson 1 may 2014
steve dolton 14 april 2014
steve halbert 1 may 2014 chair chair
samantha porteous 14 april 2014 chair
gillian kent 3 november 2014
internal control
the company has introduced policies on internal control and corporate governance these have been prepared in order to ensure that
• proper business records are maintained and reported on which might reasonably affect the conduct of the business
• monitoring procedures for the performance of the group are presented to the board at regular intervals
• budget proposals are submitted to the local board no later than two months before the start of each financial year
• budget proposals are submitted to the board no later than one month before the start of each financial year
• accounting policies and practices suitable for the group’s activities are followed in preparing the financial statements
• the group is provided with general accounting administrative and secretarial services as may reasonably be required and
• interim and annual accounts are prepared and submitted in time to enable the group to meet statutory filing deadlines
communication with shareholders
communications with shareholders are given a high priority by the board of directors who take responsibility for ensuring that a satisfactory 
dialogue takes place this is achieved through its annual report interim report and comprehensive website wwwnahlgroupplccouk there 
is also a regular dialogue between the chief executive officer the chief financial officer and institutional investors and other financial 
institutions in addition to the required public announcements a constant and uptodate information flow is maintained on the website 
containing all press announcements and financial reports
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations 
company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year under that law the directors are required to prepare 
the group financial statements in accordance with international financial reporting standards ifrs as adopted by the european union and 
have also chosen to prepare the parent company financial statements under ifrss as adopted by the eu under company law the directors must 
not approve the accounts unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or 
loss of the company for that period in preparing these financial statements international accounting standard 1 requires that directors
• properly select and apply accounting policies
• present information including accounting policies in a manner that provides relevant reliable comparable and understandable 
information
• provide additional disclosures when compliance with the specific requirements in ifrss are insufficient to enable users to understand the 
impact of particular transactions other events and conditions on the entity’s financial position and financial performance and
• make an assessment of the company’s ability to continue as a going concern
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions 
and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial 
statements comply with the companies act 2006 they are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking 
reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities the directors are responsible for the maintenance and 
integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the company’s website legislation in the united kingdom governing the 
preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions
by order of the board
russell atkinson    steve dolton
chief executive officer    chief financial officer
23 march 2015    23 march 2015 33 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
directors’ remuneration report
statement from the chairman of the remuneration committee
dear shareholder
i am pleased to present the directors’ remuneration report for the financial year ended 31 december 2014
as an aim listed company nahl group plc is not required to comply with the uk listing authority rules or the uk corporate governance 
code nevertheless since its admission to aim in may 2014 one of the key areas of focus of the committee has been the development of a 
comprehensive remuneration policy furthermore the company is committed to a responsible and transparent approach in respect of 
executive pay and has decided to conform to best practice for a large aim listed company in respect of executive remuneration reporting  
the company has therefore adopted a number of the key reporting requirements included within the new directors’ remuneration 
reporting regulations 
this report is presented in two sections the directors’ remuneration policy and the annual report on remuneration the directors’ 
remuneration policy sets out the forwardlooking remuneration policy the annual report on remuneration provides details of the amounts 
earned in respect of the year ended 31 december 2014 and how the directors’ remuneration policy will be operated for the year commencing 
1 january 2015 
both the annual report on remuneration and the directors’ remuneration policy are subject to an advisory vote at the 2015 annual general 
meeting the committee believes the advisory votes will provide a greater degree of accountability and give shareholders a say on this 
important area of corporate governance the advisory vote on the directors’ remuneration policy will apply for three years unless the 
committee deems it appropriate to put the policy to shareholders again before then
review of the 2014 financial year
as described earlier in the executive’s reports the company has performed well in its first year as a listed company with both revenue and 
underlying operating profit up on 2013 by 104 and 293 respectively consequently the annual bonus conditions have been exceeded
nahl group plc believes that the ongoing success of the company depends to a high degree on retaining and incentivising the performance 
of key personnel to this end the company adopted the longterm incentive plan enterprise management incentive plan and saye plan  
on its admission to aim to align interests of senior management and the wider workforce with those of the shareholders subsequently 
executive directors were granted longterm incentive awards with a face value of between £745000 and £895000 the vesting of which  
is subject to achieving average annual compound growth in earnings per share eps of at least 10 over a threeyear period ending  
31 december 2016 the committee considers eps to be the key external measure of financial performance over the longer term in delivering 
value to shareholders
changes for the 2015 financial year
during 2014 the committee commissioned deloitte llp to undertake a review of remuneration at nahl and propose changes to the 
remuneration structure as a result of the review the committee has agreed to the following key changes to executive directors’ 
remuneration at the company in 2015
• executive directors were awarded a 25 increase to base salary in 2015
• for 2015 the chief executive’s maximum annual bonus award will be set at 100 of salary the maximum annual bonus opportunity for 
the chief financial officer is 70 of salary
• annual bonus awards for 2015 will be based on operating profit and individual objectives 
the company has experienced considerable share price growth since its admission to aim against this background and in order to 
further align the interests of the executives with the shareholders of the company the committee intends to grant market value 
nontaxadvantaged share options under the enterprise management incentive plan to executive directors in 2015 it is intended that 
russell atkinson will be granted an award equal to 100 of salary and steve dolton will be granted an award equal to 80 of salary the 
vesting of the awards will be subject to achieving average annual compound growth in eps of at least 10 over a three year period ending 
31 december 2017 
the committee will continue to monitor remuneration policy to ensure it remains aligned to the business strategy and delivery of 
shareholder value
samantha porteous
chairman of the remuneration committee
23 march 2015 nahl group plc 34
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
directors’ remuneration report continued
this section sets out the company’s directors’ remuneration policy which will apply from the date of the 2015 annual general meeting  
the policy is determined by the committee of the company
key principles
the company’s remuneration package for executive directors has been designed based on the following key principles
• promote the longterm success of the company with transparent and stretching performance conditions which are rigorously applied
• provide appropriate alignment between the company’s strategic goals shareholder returns and executive reward and
• have a competitive mix of base salary and short and longterm incentives with an appropriate proportion of the package determined by 
stretching targets linked to the company’s performance
policy table for executive directors
component purpose and link to strategy operation maximum opportunity performance measures
base salary fixed remuneration to 
provide a competitive base 
salary for the market in 
which the company 
operates to attract and 
retain executives of a 
suitable calibre
salaries are reviewed annually 
taking into account
• underlying group performance
• role experience and individual 
performance and
• competitive salary levels and 
market forces
no overall maximum has 
been set under the policy 
however salary increases 
are reviewed in the context 
of the wider workforce 
increases
not applicable
benefits to provide a market 
competitive benefits 
package as part of total 
remuneration
executive directors receive benefits 
in line with market practice and 
these include principally life 
insurance private medical 
insurance and a car allowance
set at a level which the 
committee deems 
appropriate
not applicable
retirement 
benefits
to provide an appropriate 
level of retirement benefit
executive directors are eligible to 
participate in the company’s 
defined contribution pension plan
executive directors 
currently receive nominal  
or no pension contributions 
the committee will review 
options to implement a 
defined pension 
contribution of up to  
10 at a future date
not applicable
saye plan to create alignment with 
the company and promote a 
sense of ownership
executive directors are entitled to 
participate in a tax qualifying all 
employee saye plan
participation limits are 
those set by the uk tax 
authorities
not subject to performance 
measures in line with hmrc 
practice
annual bonus rewards performance 
against annual targets 
which support the strategic 
direction of the company
awards are based on annual 
performance against key financial 
targets andor the delivery of 
strategicpersonal objectives
the committee has discretion to 
amend the payout should any 
formulaic output not reflect the 
committee’s assessment of overall 
business performance
maximum bonus 
opportunity for the chief 
executive is up to 100 of 
base salary in respect of a 
financial year
maximum bonus 
opportunity for the chief 
financial officer is up to 
70 of base salary in 
respect of a financial year
targets are set annually 
reflecting the company’s 
strategy and aligned with 
key financial strategic and
or individual targets 
at least 50 of the bonus is 
assessed against financial 
performance of the business 
and the balance is based  
on strategicpersonal 
objectives 
stretching targets are 
required for maximum 
payout 35 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
component purpose and link to strategy operation maximum opportunity performance measures
longterm 
incentive 
to drive and reward the 
achievement of longerterm 
objectives support 
retention and promote share 
ownership for executive 
directors
the company operates a longterm 
incentive plan ltip and 
enterprise management incentive 
emi plan
under the ltip awards may be 
granted in the form of nil or nominal 
cost share options or contingent 
rights to receive shares
under the emi plan awards may be 
granted in the form of taxfavoured 
share options or nontaxfavoured 
share options it is intended that  
the exercise price of a share option 
under the emi plan shall be the 
market value of the underlying 
share at grant
the vesting of awards granted 
under the ltip and emi plan will 
normally be subject to the 
achievement of specified 
performance conditions normally 
over a period of at least three years
awards granted under the ltip  
and emi plan may be subject to 
malus provisions at the discretion  
of the committee 
under the ltip and emi plan 
rules the overall maximum 
award that may be granted 
in respect of a financial year 
is 300 of salary
furthermore both the ltip 
and emi plan rules prescribe 
that awards may be granted 
in excess of these limits in 
exceptional circumstances 
it is intended that the actual 
annual grants in 2015 will 
be lower than the overall 
maximum awards per the 
plan rules and will be 
disclosed within the annual 
report on remuneration
relevant performance 
measures are set that  
reflect underlying  
business performance
performance measures and 
their weighting where there 
is more than one measure 
are reviewed annually to 
maintain appropriateness 
and relevance
for awards granted in 2015 
the vesting of awards will 
be subject to stretching 
earnings per share eps 
targets 
nonexecutive directors
purpose and link to strategy approach of the company
sole element of 
nonexecutive director 
remuneration set at a  
level that reflects market 
conditions and is sufficient  
to attract individuals with 
appropriate knowledge  
and experience
fees are normally reviewed annually
fees paid to nonexecutive directors for their services are approved by the remuneration committee fees 
may include a basic fee and additional fees for further responsibilities for example chairmanship of board 
committees 
nonexecutive directors do not participate in any of the company’s share options schemes or annual bonus 
scheme nor do they receive any pension contributions nonexecutive directors may be eligible to receive 
benefits such as the use of secretarial support travel costs or other benefits that may be appropriate
explanation of performance measures chosen
performance measures are selected that are aligned with the performance of the group and the interests of shareholders stretching 
performance targets are set each year for the annual bonus and longterm incentive awards when setting these performance targets the 
committee will take into account a number of different reference points which may include the group’s business plans and strategy and the 
economic environment full vesting will only occur for what the committee considers to be stretching performance
the annual bonus is predominantly based on financial metrics longterm incentive awards are based on eps growth
the committee retains the ability to adjust or set different performance measures if events occur which cause the committee to determine 
that the measures are no longer appropriate and that amendment is required so that they achieve their original purpose
awards and options may be adjusted in the event of a variation of share capital in accordance with the rules of the ltip and emi plans
policy for the remuneration of employees more generally
remuneration arrangements are determined throughout the group based on the same principle that reward should be achieved for delivery of 
the business strategy and should be sufficient to attract retain and motivate highcalibre employees the company operates a hmrc approved 
saye plan and invites all employees to participate at the discretion of the committee therefore encouraging wider workforce share ownership
there is no consultation with employees regarding director’s remuneration nahl group plc 36
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
directors’ remuneration report continued
service contracts
russell atkinson’s service contract is on a rolling basis and may be terminated on nine months’ notice by the company or the executive 
steve dolton’s service contract is on a rolling basis and may be terminated on six months’ notice by the company or the executive 
all nonexecutive directors have initial fixedterm agreements with the company of no more than three years commencing 29 may 2014 or 
in the case of gillian kent 3 november 2014 three months’ notice is required
statement of consideration of shareholder views
the committee considers shareholder feedback received on remuneration matters including issues arising in relation to the agm as well as 
any additional comments received during any other meetings with shareholders the committee will seek to engage directly with major 
shareholders and their representative bodies should any material changes be made to the directors’ remuneration policy
remuneration
the tables below detail the total remuneration receivable by each director for the financial year ended 31 december 2014 remuneration has 
been calculated from the date at which the directors were appointed to the board of nahl group plc where necessary further explanation 
of the values provided are included in the footnotes to the table or the additional information that follows it
2014
salary and 
fees
£000
benefits
£000
annual  
cash bonus
£000
pension
£000
total 
remuneration
£000
executive directors
russell atkinson 134 12 115 1 262
steve dolton
1
130 12 109 – 251
non–executive directors
steve halbert 49 – – – 49
samantha porteous
2
63 3 – – 66
gillian kent
3
7 – – – 7
 
1 steve dolton is contracted to work four days per week and his salary is prorated to reflect this time commitment
2 figures for samantha porteous include remuneration as an executive director prior to 29 may 2014
3 gillian kent was appointed to the board on 3 november 2014
the taxable value of benefits received in the period shown above are from the directors’ appointment to the board to 31 december 
2014 these are principally car allowance and private medical insurance
individual elements of remuneration
base salary and fees
the base salaries for 2014 and 2015 are as set out below
2014 base 
salary
2015 base 
salary
1
 increase
russell atkinson £205250 £210381 25
steve dolton £164200 £168305 25
details of nonexecutive directors’ fees for 2014 and 2015 are as set out below
2014 fee 2015 fee
1
 increase
chairman’s fees £80000 £81600 2
nonexecutive director’s fee £40000 £40800 2
chair of the remuneration committee £5000 £5100 2
 
1 salary increase with effect from 1 march 2015 37 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
annual bonus plan
the maximum annual bonus opportunity for each executive director in respect of the year ended 31 december 2014 was 70 of base salary 
payments were based on the delivery of ebitda targets and individual objectives 
the following table sets out the bonus payout to the executive directors for 2014 and how this reflects performance for the year  
the bonus reportable in the single figure table on page 36 has been prorated for the period from the directors’ appointment to the board  
to 31 december 2014 
performance target actual performance
executive director  
bonus as a  
percentage of salary
earnings before income tax depreciation and amortisation 
ebitda £12500000 achieved 4452
individual objectives objective achievement achieved 1214
total bonus earned 5666
longterm incentives
awards vesting in respect of the financial year
no longterm incentive awards vested during the financial year
awards granted during the financial year
on the company’s admission to aim executive directors were granted awards on the following basis
type of award
number of 
shares
face value 
at grant
1
performance
period
russell atkinson nominal cost options granted under the ltip 312501 £625002 3 years
russell atkinson market value options granted under the emi plan
2
124999 £269998 3 years
steve dolton nominal cost options granted under the ltip 237501 £475002 3 years
steve dolton market value options granted under the emi plan
2
124999 £269998 3 years
 
1 options are valued by taking their fair value at the date of grant which is calculated as the number of options multiplied by the share price at grant
2 emi plan options above the £250000 individual face value limit have been awarded as unapproved options
the awards will be based on the following earnings per share eps targets
average annual compound growth in eps between 2013 and 2016 percentage of option vesting
10 100
statement of directors’ shareholding and share interests
the interests of the directors and their immediate families in the company’s ordinary shares as at 31 december 2014 were as follows 
31 december 
2014
executive directors
russell atkinson 083
steve dolton 207
nonexecutive directors
steve halbert 157
samantha porteous 754
gillian kent 000 nahl group plc 38
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
directors’ remuneration report continued
implementation of directors’ remuneration policy for the financial year commencing 1 january 2015
information on how the company intends to implement the directors’ remuneration policy for the financial year commencing on 1 january 
2015 is set out below
salaryfees and benefits
the executive directors were awarded a 25 increase to base salary with effect from 1 march 2015 nonexecutive directors’ fees increased 
by 2 with effect from 1 march 2015 
annual bonus plan
the maximum bonus opportunity for the chief executive and chief financial officer will be 100 and 70 of salary respectively
at least 50 of the annual bonus will be assessed against operating profit performance and the balance based on individual objectives 
performance targets will continue to be set at the challenging levels of previous years the actual performance targets are not disclosed as 
they are considered to be commercially sensitive at this time the targets will be disclosed in next year’s directors’ remuneration report or 
at such point that the committee considers that the performance targets are no longer commercially sensitive 
longterm incentives
it is proposed that nontaxfavoured share options with an exercise price equal to the market value of the underlying shares at grant will be 
granted under the emi plan to executive directors in 2015 the company intends to deliver a maximum opportunity of awards equal to 100 
of base salary to russell atkinson and 80 of base salary to steve dolton vesting on the eps targets noted above
approval
this report was approved by the board on 23 march 2015 and signed on its behalf by
samantha porteous
chairman of the remuneration committee
23 march 2015 39 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 governance
statement of directors’ responsibilities
in respect of the strategic report the directors’ report and the financial statements
the directors are responsible for preparing the strategic report the directors’ report and the group and parent company financial statements 
in accordance with applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare group and parent company financial statements for each financial year as required by the 
alternative investment market rules of the london stock exchange they are required to prepare the group financial statements in 
accordance with international financial reporting standards ifrs as adopted by the eu and applicable law and have elected to prepare 
the parent company financial statements in accordance with uk accounting standards and applicable law  uk generally accepted 
accounting practice uk gaap
under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of 
the state of affairs of the group and parent company and of their profit or loss for that period in preparing each of the group and parent 
company financial statements the directors are required to
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent 
• for the group financial statements state whether they have been prepared in accordance with ifrs as adopted by the eu 
• for the parent company financial statements state whether applicable uk accounting standards have been followed subject to any 
material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements and 
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the group and the parent company 
will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the parent company’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the parent company and enable them to ensure that 
its financial statements comply with the companies act 2006 they have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open 
to them to safeguard the assets of the group and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the company’s 
website legislation in the uk governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in 
other jurisdictions nahl group plc 40
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
independent auditor’s report to the members of nahl group plc
we have audited the financial statements of nahl group plc for the year ended 31 december 2014 set out on pages 22 to 61 the financial 
reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the group financial statements is applicable law and international financial 
reporting standards ifrss as adopted by the eu the financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the parent 
company financial statements is applicable law and uk accounting standards uk generally accepted accounting practice
this report is made solely to the company’s members as a body in accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of the companies act 2006 our audit 
work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s 
report and for no other purpose to the fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the 
company and the company’s members as a body for our audit work for this report or for the opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities of directors and auditor
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement set out on page 19 the directors are responsible for the preparation of 
the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view our responsibility is to audit and express an opinion on 
the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and international standards on auditing uk and ireland those standards 
require us to comply with the auditing practices board’s ethical standards for auditors
scope of the audit of the financial statements
a description of the scope of an audit of financial statements is provided on the financial reporting council’s website at 
wwwfrcorgukauditscopeukprivate
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion
• the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 31 december 2014 
and of the group’s profit for the year then ended
• the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the eu
• the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with uk generally accepted accounting practice and
• the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the companies act 2006
opinion on other matter prescribed by the companies act 2006
in our opinion the information given in the strategic report and the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements 
are prepared is consistent with the financial statements
matters on which we are required to report by exception
we have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the companies act 2006 requires us to report to you if in our opinion
• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from 
branches not visited by us or
• the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns or
• certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made or
• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit
david simpson senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of kpmg llp statutory auditor  
chartered accountants
altius house
one north fourth street
milton keynes
mk9 1ne
23 march 2015
 the page numbers quoted above in the auditor’s statement for the financial statements and statement of directors’ responsibilities refer to the relevant pages in the signed 
financial statements filed with companies house this is also the case for references to the strategic report 41 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 december 2014
note
2014
£000
2013
£000
continuing operations
revenue excluding prelaspo ate 2 43848 39717
prelaspo ate revenue
1
 2 – 9406
total revenue 12 43848 49123
cost of sales 23885 23090
gross profit 19963 26033
administrative expenses 4 8190 6819
operating profit excluding sharebased payments oneoff items and prelaspo ate 12713 9829
sharebased payments 19 288 7
oneoff items 5 652 –
prelaspo ate operating profit 2 – 9378
total operating profit 2 11773 19214
financial income 8 590 332
financial expense 9 291 4805
profit before tax 12072 14741
taxation 10 2594 4411
profit from continuing operations 9478 10330
discontinued operation
loss from discontinued operation net of tax 3 1005 872
profit for the year and total comprehensive income 8473 9458
all profits and losses and total comprehensive income are attributable to the owners of the company
1  prelaspo ate revenue means commissions received from the use of an ate insurance product by participating solicitor firms before the implementation of the laspo 
as a result of the laspo regulatory changes which were effective from 1 april 2013 this product is no longer available in the same form and has therefore been 
separately identified
2014
2013 
adjusted
basic earnings per share p
group 20 206 230
continuing operations 20 230 251
diluted earnings per share p
group 20 202 225
continuing operations 20 226 246
discontinued earnings per share are shown in note 20 comparatives for earnings per share have been adjusted as described in note 20 nahl group plc 42
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
consolidated statement of financial position
at 31 december 2014
note
2014
£000
2013 
£000
noncurrent assets
goodwill 12 39897 39897
property plant and equipment 14 186 371
deferred tax asset 11 77 61
40160 40329
current assets
trade and other receivables 15 3725 3168
cash and cash equivalents 13637 14249
assets classified as held for sale 3 – 3138
17362 20555
total assets 57522 60884
current liabilities
other interestbearing loans and borrowings 17 2950 6789
trade and other payables 16 7688 7838
other payables relating to legacy prelaspo ate product 2 6511 12086
tax payable 1248 3107
liabilities classified as held for sale 3 – 843
18397 30663
noncurrent liabilities
other interestbearing loans and borrowings 17 2951 70
total liabilities 21348 30733
net assets 36174 30151
equity 
share capital 18 103 231
share option reserve 288 –
interest in own shares – 14
share premium 49533 100
merger reserve 50000 –
retained earnings 36250 29834
t otal equity 36174 30151
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 23 march 2015 and were signed on its behalf by
russell atkinson
chief executive officer
company registered number 08996352 43 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
company balance sheet
at 31 december 2014
note
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
noncurrent assets
investments 13 52700 –
current assets
trade and other receivables 15 25306 –
net assets 78006 –
equity 
share capital 18 103 –
share option reserve 288 –
share premium 49533 –
merger reserve 16928 –
retained earnings 11154 –
total equity 78006 –
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 23 march 2015 and were signed on its behalf by
russell atkinson
chief executive officer
company registered number 08996352  nahl group plc 44
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 december 2014
share
capital
£000
share
option
reserve
£000
interest 
in own 
shares
£000
share
premium
£000
merger 
reserve
£000
retained
earnings
£000
total
equity
£000
balance at 1 january 2013 231 – 14 100 – 20383 20700
total comprehensive income for the year
profit for the year – – – – – 9458 9458
total comprehensive income – – – – – 9458 9458
transactions with owners recorded directly in 
equity
equitysettled sharebased payments – – – – – 7 7
balance at 31 december 2013 231 – 14 100 – 29834 30151
total comprehensive income for the year
profit for the year – – – – – 8473 8473
total comprehensive income – – – – – 8473 8473
transactions with owners recorded directly in 
equity
issue of deferred share note 24 – – – 50000 50000 – –
disposal of assets held for sale note 24 – – – 1500 – – 1500
issue of new ordinary shares note 24 3 – – 861 – – 864
sharebased payments note 19 – 288 – – – – 288
other transactions with owners note 24 131 – 14 72 – – 45
dividends paid – – – – – 2057 2057
balance at 31 december 2014 103 288 – 49533 50000 36250 36174 45 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
company statement of total recognised gains and losses
for the year ended 31 december 2014
share
capital
£000
share 
option 
reserve
£000
share
premium
£000
merger 
reserve
£000
retained
earnings
£000
total
equity
£000
balance at 1 january 2014 – – – – – –
total comprehensive income for the year
profit for the year – – – – 13211 13211
total comprehensive income – – – – 13211 13211
transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
fair value of shares acquired through share for share exchange 272 – – 66928 – 67200
issue of deferred share note 24 – – 50000 50000 – –
disposal of assets held for sale note 24 – – 1500 – – 1500
issue of new ordinary shares note 24 3 – 861 – – 864
sharebased payments note 19 – 288 – – – 288
other transactions with owners note 24 172 – 172 – – –
dividends paid – – – – 2057 2057
balance at 31 december 2014 103 288 49533 16928 11154 78006 nahl group plc 46
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 december 2014
note
2014
£000
2013 
£000
cash flows from operating activities
continuing operations
profit for the year 9478 10330
adjustments for
depreciation 4 212 245
financial income 8 590 332
financial expense 9 291 4805
sharebased payments 619 288 7
taxation 10 2594 4411
12273 19452
increase in trade and other receivables 557 1818
increasedecrease in trade and other payables 40 113
decrease in other payables relating to legacy prelaspo ate product 5575 3177
6181 14344
interest paid 443 3050
tax paid 4469 3133
net cash from operating activities – continuing operations 1269 8161
net cash from operating activities – discontinued operations
1
3 654 711
net cash from operating activities 615 8872
cash flows from investing activities
continuing operations
acquisition of property plant and equipment 14 27 177
interest received 110 332
income from crystallisation of contingent asset 5 480 –
net cash fromused in investing activities – continuing operations 563 155
net cash used in investing activities – discontinued operations 3 – 3629
net cash used in investing activities 563 3474
cash flows from financing activities
continuing operations
new share issue 819 –
repayment of borrowings 996 28322
dividends paid 2057 –
net cash used in financing activities – continuing operations 2234 28322
net cash used in financing activities – discontinued operations 3 250 2902
net cash used in financing activities 1984 25420
net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 806 20022
cash and cash equivalents at 1 january 14443 34465
cash and cash equivalents at 31 december
2
21 13637 14443
1 net cash from operating activities discontinued operations includes operating cashflows of £444000 2013 £711000 from discontinued operations and £210000 2013 nil of 
costs borne by the group
2 cash and cash equivalents at 31 december 2013 include cash for discontinued operations of £194000 not included on the face of the consolidated statement of financial position 47 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
notes to the financial statements
1 accounting policies
basis of preparation
consolidated financial statements
the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2014 have been prepared in accordance with international financial 
reporting standards ifrs as adopted by the european union and with those parts of the companies act 2006 applicable to companies 
reporting under ifrs
the consolidated financial information has been prepared on a going concern basis and under the historical cost convention
the first consolidated financial statements which were prepared under ifrs as adopted by the european union are the historical financial 
information included within the aim admission document a copy of these financial statements can be obtained from the group’s website 
wwwnahlgroupplccouk the date of transition to ifrs was 1 january 2011 and disclosures concerning the transition from uk gaap to 
ifrs are detailed in note 24 of the aim admission document therefore the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 
31 december 2014 do not constitute the first ifrs financial statements of the group and accordingly no associated disclosures are provided
the directors have prepared cash flow forecasts for the period until december 2016 based on these the directors confirm that there are 
sufficient cash reserves to fund the business for the period under review and believe that the group is well placed to manage its business risk 
successfully for this reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements
the share capital relating to nahl group plc is a result of a share for share exchange with the shareholders of consumer champion group 
limited there was no change of control as a result of the transaction
parent company
the individual company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards uk gaap and under 
the historical cost accounting rules
under frs 1 the company is exempt from the requirement to prepare a cash flow statement on the grounds that a parent undertaking 
includes the company in its own published consolidated financial statements
basis of consolidation
the financial statements represent a consolidation of the company and its subsidiary undertakings as at the statement of financial position 
date and for the year then ended in accordance with ifrs 10 the definition of control is such that an investor has control over an investee 
when a it has power over the investee b it is exposed or has the rights to variable returns from its involvement with the investee and c has 
the ability to use its power to affect its returns all three of these criteria must be met for an investor to have control over an investee all 
subsidiary undertakings in which the group has a greater than 50 percent shareholding have been consolidated in the group’s results
the consolidated financial information incorporates the results of business combinations using the purchase method in the group statement 
of financial position the acquiree’s identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities are initially recognised at their fair values at the 
acquisition date the results of acquired operations are included in the group statement of comprehensive income from the date on which 
control is obtained they are deconsolidated from the date on which control ceases acquisition costs are expensed as incurred this policy 
does not apply on the acquisition of consumer champion group limited for which reverse acquisition accounting has been applied
use of judgements and estimates
the preparation of financial statements in conformity with ifrss requires management to make judgements and estimates that affect the 
application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets liabilities income and expenses actual results may differ from these 
estimates estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the 
year in which the estimates are revised and in any future years affected
revenue other than prelaspo ate insurance income is not considered to be a key judgement or estimate as the revenue recognised is equal 
to the cash received with no further clawback or commitments all solicitor income cash is collected by direct debit in the month within 
which it is billed
judgements
in applying the group’s accounting policies management has applied judgement in the following areas that have a significant impact on the 
amounts recognised in the financial statements
intangible assets
when the group makes an acquisition management determines whether any intangible assets should be recognised separately from goodwill nahl group plc 48
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
1 accounting policies continued
estimates
discussed below are key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation at the reporting date that have a risk of 
causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next financial year
impairment of goodwill
the group determines on an annual basis whether goodwill is impaired this requires an estimation of the future cash flows of 
the cashgenerating units to which the goodwill is allocated see note 12
contingent consideration
when the group acquires businesses total consideration may consist of additional amounts payable on agreed postcompletion dates these 
further amounts are contingent on the acquired business meeting agreed performance targets at the date of acquisition the group reviews 
the profit and cash forecasts for the acquired business and estimates the amount of contingent consideration that is likely to be due
recoverability of trade receivables
trade receivables are reflected net of an estimated provision for impairment losses this provision considers the past payment history and the 
length of time that the debt has remained unpaid see note 15 and 21
deferred tax
deferred tax assets and liabilities require management judgement in determining the amounts to be recognised with consideration given to 
the timing and level of future taxable income see note 11
revenue recognition
prelaspo ate revenue is recognised in full upon inception of the associated policy less an allowance for the estimated claw back of revenue 
based upon the underlying historic failure rate of claims
new standards interpretations and amendments not yet effective
the group has not applied the following new and revised ifrss that have been issued but are not yet effective
• ifrs 9 financial instruments  effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 january 2018 with early application 
permitted 
• ifrs 15 revenue from contracts with customers  effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 january 2017  
with early application permitted 
• amendments to ias 16 and ias 38 clarification of acceptable methods of depreciation and amortisation  effective for annual reporting 
periods beginning on or after 1 january 2016 with early application permitted 
• amendments to ias 19 defined benefit plans employee contributions  effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 
july 2014 with early application permitted 
• amendments to ifrss annual improvements to ifrss 20102012 cycle  effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 
july 2014 with limited exceptions earlier application is permitted the annual improvements to ifrss 20102012 cycle include a number 
of amendments to various ifrss such as ifrs 2 ‘sharebased payment’ ifrs 3 ‘business combinations’ ifrs 8 ‘operating segments’ 
ifrs 13 ‘fair value measurement’ ias 16 ‘property plant and equipment’ ias 38 ‘intangible assets’ and ias 24 ‘related party 
disclosures’
• amendments to ifrss annual improvements to ifrss 20112013 cycle  effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 
july 2014 with early application permitted the annual improvements to ifrss 20112013 cycle include a number of amendments to 
various ifrss such as ifrs 3 ‘business combinations’ ifrs 13 ‘fair value measurement’ and ias 40 ‘investment property’
the group has considered the impact of the above standards and revisions and has concluded that they will not have a material impact on the 
group’s financial statements
going concern
the group had cash balances of £13637000 2013 £14443000 net assets of £36174000 2013 £30151000 and net current liabilities of 
£1035000 2013 £10108000 as at each year end
after making enquiries the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future as a consequence the directors believe that the group is well placed to manage its business risks 
successfully as part of the normal management process detailed projections of future trading are prepared which includes the impact for 
possible changes in market or regulatory conditions based on these projections the board remain very positive about the group’s short and 
longterm prospects 
accordingly the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the strategic report directors’ report and financial statements
notes to the financial statements continued 49 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
1 accounting policies continued
revenue
revenue relating to solicitor income including recharged costs means income received for the provision of enquiries to solicitor firms on a 
costplus model revenue recognised is equal to the cash received with no further clawback or commitments all cash is collected by direct 
debit in the month within which it is billed
prelaspo ate revenue means commissions received from the use of an ate insurance product by participating solicitor firms before the 
implementation of laspo as a result of the laspo regulatory changes which were effective from 1 april 2013 this product is no longer 
available in the same form and has therefore been separately disclosed on the face of the consolidated income statement and is separately 
identified as an operational segment whilst the income is contingent upon the successful outcome of the associated case the directors 
consider that a right to consideration occurs at the point at which an insurance policy is incepted and at this point the obligations of the 
group are discharged accordingly expected income is recognised in full upon inception of the associated policy less an allowance for the 
estimated claw back of income based upon the underlying failure rate of claims
products revenue relates to commissions for the sale of additional products which aid the claims process to solicitor firms with which the 
group has an ongoing relationship the commissions received are recognised as revenue in the period in which the product is used
revenue relating to ppi claimline limited has been included as a discontinued operation as a decision was made by the directors to sell this 
major line of business on 15 may 2014 revenue is recognised on confirmation of successful completion of a claim
all revenue is stated net of value added tax the entire revenue arose in the united kingdom
goodwill
goodwill represents the excess of the fair value of the consideration given over the fair value of the group’s share of the net identifiable 
assets of the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition goodwill is not amortised but is tested for impairment annually and again 
whenever indicators of impairment are detected and is carried at cost less any provision for impairment any impairment is recognised  
in the income statement
other intangible assets
other intangible assets that are acquired by the group and have finite useful lives are measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and 
any accumulated impairment losses
amortisation
intangible assets are amortised on a straightline basis over their estimated useful lives as follows 
• customerrelated intangibles – 1 year
depreciation
depreciation is calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of property plant and equipment by equal instalments over their 
estimated useful economic lives as follows
• office equipment – 3 to 5 years
• computers – 3 years
operating leases
operating lease rentals are charged to the income statement account on a straightline basis over the period of the lease
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and call deposits bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an integral part 
of the group’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents for the purpose only of the cash flow statement
taxation
tax on the income statement for the year comprises current and deferred tax tax is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income 
except to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity in which case it is recognised in equity current tax is the expected 
tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the year using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date 
and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous years
deferred tax is provided on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and 
the amounts used for taxation purposes the following temporary differences are not provided for the initial recognition of goodwill the 
initial recognition of assets or liabilities that affect neither accounting nor taxable profit other than in a business combination and 
differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent that they will probably not reverse in the foreseeable future the amount of 
deferred tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the carrying amount of assets and liabilities using tax 
rates enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date a deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that 
future taxable profits will be available against which the temporary difference can be utilised nahl group plc 50
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
1 accounting policies continued
interestbearing borrowings
interestbearing borrowings are recognised initially at fair value less attributable transaction costs subsequent to initial recognition 
interestbearing borrowings are stated at amortised cost using the effective interest method less any impairment losses
classification of financial instruments issued by the group
financial instruments issued by the group are treated as equity ie forming part of equity only to the extent that they meet the following 
two conditions 
a they include no contractual obligations upon the company or group as the case may be to deliver cash or other financial assets or to 
exchange financial assets or financial liabilities with another party under conditions that are potentially unfavourable to the company  
or group and 
b where the instrument will or may be settled in the company’s own equity instruments it is either a nonderivative that includes no 
obligation to deliver a variable number of the company’s own equity instruments or is a derivative that will be settled by the company’s 
exchanging a fixed amount of cash or other financial assets for a fixed number of its own equity instruments
to the extent that this definition is not met the proceeds of issue are classified as a financial liability where the instrument so classified 
takes the legal form of the company’s own shares the amounts presented in these financial statements for called up share capital and share 
premium account exclude amounts in relation to those shares
finance payments associated with financial liabilities are dealt with as part of interest payable and similar charges finance payments 
associated with financial instruments that are classified as part of shareholders’ funds are dealt with as appropriations in the reconciliation 
of movements in equity
employee share schemes
the share option plans allow employees of the group to acquire shares of the company the fair value of options granted is recognised as an 
employee expense with a corresponding increase in equity the fair value is measured at grant date and spread over the period during which 
the employees become unconditionally entitled to the options the fair value of the options granted is measured using an option pricing 
model taking into account the terms and conditions upon which the options were granted the amount recognised as an expense is adjusted 
to reflect the actual number of share options that vest except where forfeiture is only due to share prices not achieving the threshold 
for vesting
impairment
the carrying amounts of the group’s nonfinancial assets other than deferred tax assets are reviewed at each reporting date to determine 
whether there is any indication of impairment if any such indication exists then the asset’s recoverable amount is estimated for goodwill 
and intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives or that are not yet available for use the recoverable amount is estimated each year at 
the same time
the recoverable amount of an asset or cashgenerating unit cgu is the greater of its value in use and its fair value less costs to sell in 
assessing value in use the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pretax discount rate that reflects current 
market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for the purpose of impairment testing assets that cannot 
be tested individually are grouped together into the smallest group of assets that generates cash inflows from continuing use that are largely 
independent of the cash inflows of other assets or groups of assets the cgu the goodwill acquired in a business combination for the 
purpose of impairment testing is allocated to cgus subject to an operating segment ceiling test for the purposes of goodwill impairment 
testing cgus to which goodwill has been allocated are aggregated so that the level at which impairment is tested reflects the lowest level at 
which goodwill is monitored for internal reporting purposes goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated to groups of cgus that 
are expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination
an impairment loss is recognised if the carrying amount of an asset or its cgu exceeds its estimated recoverable amount impairment 
losses are recognised in the income statement impairment losses recognised in respect of cgus are allocated first to reduce the carrying 
amount of any goodwill allocated to the units and then to reduce the carrying amounts of the other assets in the unit group of units on  
a prorata basis
an impairment loss in respect of goodwill is not reversed in respect of other assets impairment losses recognised in prior periods are 
assessed at each reporting date for any indications that the loss has decreased or no longer exists an impairment loss is reversed if there has 
been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount an impairment loss is reversed only to the extent that the asset’s 
carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined net of depreciation or amortisation if no 
impairment loss had been recognised
noncurrent assets held for sale and discontinued operations
a noncurrent asset or a group of assets containing a noncurrent asset a disposal group is classified as held for sale if its carrying amount 
will be recovered principally through sale rather than through continuing use it is available for immediate sale and sale is highly probable 
within one year
notes to the financial statements continued 51 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
1 accounting policies continued
on initial classification as held for sale noncurrent assets and disposal groups are measured at the lower of previous carrying amount  
and fair value less costs to sell with any adjustments taken to the income statement the same applies to gains and losses on subsequent 
remeasurement although gains are not recognised in excess of any cumulative impairment loss any impairment loss on a disposal group 
first is allocated to goodwill and then to remaining assets and liabilities on pro rata basis except that no loss is allocated to inventories 
financial assets deferred tax assets employee benefit assets and investment property where applicable which continue to be measured in 
accordance with the group’s accounting policies intangible assets and property plant and equipment once classified as held for sale or 
distribution are not amortised or depreciated
in accordance with ifrs 5 the above policy is effective from transition date no reclassifications are made in prior periods
a discontinued operation is a component of the group’s business that represents a separate major line of business or geographical area of 
operations that has been disposed of or is held for sale or is a subsidiary acquired exclusively with a view to resale classification as a 
discontinued operation occurs upon disposal or when the operation meets the criteria to be classified as held for sale if earlier when an 
operation is classified as a discontinued operation the comparative income statement is restated as if the operation has been discontinued 
from the start of the comparative period
2 operating segments
solicitor
income
£000
products
£000
prelaspo
ate
£000
other 
segments
£000
oneoff 
items
£000
total  
continuing
£000
ppi claimline
discontinued
£000
total
£000
year ended 31 december 2014
revenue 38445 5403 – – – 43848 1506 45354
depreciation and amortisation 212 – – – – 212 31 243
operating profitloss 9020 5301 – 1608 940 11773 232 11541
financial income 590 – 590
financial expenses 291 – 291
profitloss before tax 12072 232 11840
trade receivables 3126 50 – – – 3176 – 3176
segment liabilities 5565 878 6511 1245 – 14199 – 14199
capital expenditure 27 – – – – 27 – 27
year ended 31 december 2013
revenue 34423  5294  9406  – – 49123  12245  61368 
depreciation and amortisation 245  –  –  – – 245 4969 5214
operating profitloss 5588  5256  9378 1008 – 19214 3494 15720
financial income 332 2903 3235 
financial expenses 4805 88 4893 
profitloss before tax 14741 679 14062
trade receivables 2373  508  –  – – 2881  1130  4011 
segment liabilities 3976 312 12086 3550 – 19924 843 20767 
capital expenditure 177  –  –  – – 177  –  177 
geographic information
all revenue and assets of the group are based in the uk
operating segments
the segments used in reporting by the chief operating decision maker codm being the board and considered relevant to the business are 
segmented on a product basis these segments are
solicitor income
revenue from the provision of enquiries to the plfs based on a cost plus margin model based on fixed fee for the period to 31 march 2013
products
commissions received from providers for the sale of additional products by them to the plfs
prelaspo ate
commissions received from the insurance provider for the use of ate policies by panel law firms from 1 april 2013 this product was no 
longer available as a result of laspo regulatory changes included in the balance sheet is a liability that has been separately identified due to 
its material value this balance is commissions received in advance that are due to be paid back to the insurance provider no interest is due 
on this liability
other segments
costs that are incurred in managing group activities or not specifically related to a product and including sharebased payments
oneoff items
costs for the payment of employee bonuses relating to admission of the company to aim
ppi claimline discontinued
provision of claims management services focused on recovery of missold payment protection insurance this business was sold on 15 may 2014 nahl group plc 52
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
2 operating segments continued
cash flows from operating activities – continuing operations
a reconciliation of operating profit to cash generation from operations for continuing operations has been presented below separately 
identifying net cash flows relating to continuing products comprising cash flows associated with solicitor income products and other 
segments the prelaspo ate product segment and cash flows within continuing operations that related to the ppi claimline division 
which is now discontinued
for the period ended 31 december 2014 oneoff items have also been separately identified
reconciliation of operating profit to net cash flows from operating activities – continued operations
continuing
products
£000
prelaspo
ate
£000
subtotal
£000
oneoff
items
£000
total
£000
12 months ended 31 december 2014
operating profit 12425 – 12425 652 11773
equitysettled sharebased payments 288 – 288 – 288
underlying operating profit 12713 – 12713 652 12061
depreciation 212 – 212 – 212
increase in tradeother receivables 557 – 557 – 557
increase in tradeother payables 40 – 40 – 40
decrease in liabilities relating to prelaspo ate product – 5575 5575 – 5575
net cash flows from operating activities before interest and tax 12408 5575 6833 652 6181
continuing
products
£000
prelaspo
ate
£000
subtotal
£000
ppi 
claimline
related
£000
total
£000
12 months ended 31 december 2013
operating profit 9836 9378 19214 – 19214
equitysettled sharebased payments 7 – 7 – 7
underlying operating profit 9829 9378 19207 – 19207
depreciation 245 – 245 – 245
decreaseincrease in tradeother receivables 487 – 487 2305 1818
decrease in tradeother payables 113 – 113 – 113
decrease in liabilities relating to prelaspo ate product – 3177 3177 – 3177
net cash flows from operating activities before interest and tax 10448 6201 16649 2305 14344
3 noncurrent assets held for sale and discontinued operation
the ppi claimline division was acquired in february 2011 and was classified as held for sale in the 31 december 2013 historical financial 
information as the company had committed to selling this division and expected to conclude a sale within the next six months the related 
assets and liabilities were classified as held for sale in the year ended 31 december 2013 and therefore the statement of comprehensive 
income was restated for discontinued operations for all three years presented
on the 15 may 2014 the division was sold for £1500000 resulting in a loss on disposal of £563000
trading results of the discontinued operation
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
revenue 1506 12245
adminstrative expenses 1738 15739
financial income – 2903
financial expense – 88
loss before tax 232 679
tax on loss – 193
loss for the year 232 872
notes to the financial statements continued 53 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
3 noncurrent assets held for sale and discontinued operation continued
loss from discontinued operations
2014
£000
2013
£000
proceeds
capital reduction 1500 –
disposal
net assets at 31 december 2013 2295 –
loss in the period 232 –
2063 –
loss on disposal 563 –
other losses attributable to discontinued operations
loss in the period 232 872
reorganisation costs 98 –
fees relating to disposal 112 –
442 872
total loss from discontinued operations 1005 872
loss before tax is stated after chargingcrediting
2014
£000
2013
£000
impairment of goodwill – 4888
depreciation of property plant and equipment 31 81
operating leases – land and buildings 49 115
operating leases – other – 5
early settlement of contingent consideration – 2902
assets and liabilities held for saledisposal group
2014
£000
2013
£000
assets classified as held for saledisposal group
intangible assets – 1265
property plant and equipment – 96
trade and other receivables – 1583
cash and cash equivalents – 194
– 3138
liabilities classified as held for saledisposal group
trade and other payables – 843
– 2295 nahl group plc 54
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
3 noncurrent assets held for sale and discontinued operation continued
cash flow statement for discontinued operations
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
cash flows from operating activities
discontinued operations
loss for the year 1005 872
adjustments for
depreciation amortisation and impairment 31 4969
financial income – 2903
financial expense – 88
taxation – 193
974 1475
decrease in trade and other receivables 1583 1038
decrease in trade and other payables 843 1599
cost borne by group company 210 –
444 914
interest paid – 10
tax paid – 193
444 711
cash flows from investing activities
discontinued operations
interest received – 1
acquisition of subsidiary – 3630
net cash from investing activities – 3629
cash flows from financing activities
discontinued operations
funding from group companies 250 –
early settlement of contingent consideration – 2902
net cash from financing activities 250 2902
net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 194 16
cash and cash equivalents at 1 january 194 210
cash and cash equivalents at 31 december – 194
intangible assets
customer
related
intangibles
£000
goodwill
£000
total
£000
cost
at 1 january 2014 312 6153 6465
disposal 312 6153 6465
at 31 december 2014 – – –
amortisation and impairment 
at 1 january 2014 312 4888 5200
disposal 312 4888 5200
at 31 december 2014 – – –
net book value
at 31 december 2013 – 1265 1265
at 31 december 2014 – – –
notes to the financial statements continued 55 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
4 administrative expenses and auditor’s remuneration
included in consolidated statement of comprehensive income are the following
2014
£000
2013
£000
depreciation of property plant and equipment 212 245
operating leases – land and buildings 120 170
operating leases – other 40 57
auditor’s remuneration 352 133
the analysis of auditor’s remuneration is as follows
2014
£000
2013
£000
audit services  statutory audit 58 38
other assurance services 8 –
taxation compliance 8 13
taxation advisory services 5 –
corporate finance services 270 82
other assurance  nonaudit services 3 –
total nonaudit remuneration 294 95
 information given excludes that of discontinued operations which are disclosed in note 3
5 oneoff items
as a result of the admission to aim process income was realised on the crystallisation of an asset that was contingent on an exit event this 
contingent asset arose as a result of the award of shares to employees by the employee benefit trust ebt under the emi scheme creating 
loans repayable on exit this income totalled £480000 under the trust rules this cash and any previously recognised cash in the ebt is 
required to be used for the benefit of employees as a result companywide bonuses were paid in recognition of the successful completion of 
the ipo the costs of these bonuses have been included in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income as oneoff items totalling 
£652000 2013 nil the £480000 income received for the contingent asset has been detailed in note 8
6 staff numbers and costs
the average number of persons employed by the group including directors during the year analysed by category was as follows
 number of employees
2014 2013
directors 3 4
others excluding discontinued operation 119 120
others from discontinued operation 33 148
155 272
the aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows
2014
£000
2013
£000
wages and salaries 5231 8602
sharebased payments see note 19 288 7
social security costs 599 856
pension costs 14 –
6132 9451 nahl group plc 56
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
7 directors’ emoluments 
proforma emoluments relate to amounts paid to current directors applying those directorships retrospectively for 2013 and 2014 prior to 
incorporation of nahl group plc statutory directors’ emoluments relate to directors registered at companies house as directors of nahl 
group plc for the period during which they were directors 
2014
£000
2013
£000
proforma directors’ emoluments 1220 995
statutory directors’ emoluments 635 –
proforma directors’ emoluments
2014
salary
and fees
£000
benefits
£000
annual
bonus
£000
ipo bonus
£000
pension
£000
total
£000
executive directors
russell atkinson 192 25 115 59 1 392
steve dolton 181 14 109 171 – 475
nonexecutive directors
steve halbert 71 – – 104 – 175
samantha porteous
1
118 7 45 1 – 171
gillian kent 7 – – – – 7
2013
salary
and fees
£000
benefits
£000
annual
bonus
£000
total 
£000
executive directors
russell atkinson 170 16 82 268
steve dolton 200 16 100 316
nonexecutive directors
steve halbert 72 – – 72
samantha porteous 215 16 108 339
statutory directors’ emoluments
2014
salary
and fees
£000
benefits
£000
annual
bonus
£000
pension
£000
total 
£000
executive directors
russell atkinson 134 12 115 1 262
steve dolton 130 12 109 – 251 
nonexecutive directors
steve halbert 49 – – – 49
samantha porteous 63 3 – – 66
gillian kent 7 – – – 7
1 figures for samantha porteous include remuneration as an executive director prior to 29 may 2014
the group contributed £3000 to pension schemes in respect of directors during the year 2013 nil
the emoluments of the highest paid director were £262000 2013 nil
key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning directing and controlling the activities of the 
group key management personnel include members of the operational board who are not statutory directors in addition to the main board 
disclosure of transactions with key management is detailed in note 25
notes to the financial statements continued 57 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
8 financial income
2014
£000
2013
£000
bank interest income 110 332
income from crystallisation of contingent asset note 5 480 –
590 332
 information given excludes that of discontinued operations which are disclosed in note 3
9 financial expense
2014
£000
2013
£000
on bank loans 157 415
on loan notes – 1705
dividends on preference shares 134 6
unwinding of loan note discounting – 64
loss on settlement of loan notes – 2609
bank charges – 6
total finance expense 291 4805
 information given excludes that of discontinued operations which are disclosed in note 3 nahl group plc 58
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
10 taxation
recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
current tax expense excluding tax on discontinued operation
current tax on income for the period 2610 4393
adjustments in respect of prior periods – 1
total current tax excluding tax on discontinued operation 2610 4392
deferred tax expense
origination and reversal of temporary differences 16 12
adjustments in respect of prior periods – 3
effects of change in standard rate of corporation tax – 10
total deferred tax excluding tax on discontinued operation 16 19
tax expense in income statement excluding tax on discontinued operation 2594 4411
current tax expense from discontinued operation
current tax on income for the period – 193
tax from discontinued operation – 193
total tax charge 2594 4604
reconciliation of effective tax rate
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
profit for the year 8473 9458
total tax expense including tax on discontinued operations 2594 4604
profit excluding taxation 11067 14062
tax using the uk corporation tax rate of 215 2013 2325 2379 3269
amortisation impairment and unwinding of discounting not deductible for tax purposes – 1669
nonchargeable gain – 675
income disallowable for tax purposes 104 –
nondeductible expenses 296 249
shortterm timing differences for which no deferred tax is recognised 39 125
effects of change in standard rate of corporation tax – 10
adjustments in respect of prior periods – 4
change in recognised temporary differences 16 –
recognition of tax effect of previously unrecognised tax losses – 39
total current tax charge including tax on discontinued operations 2594 4604
changes in tax rates and factors affecting the future tax charge
reductions in the uk corporation tax rate from 23 to 21 effective from 1 april 2014 and to 20 effective 1 april 2015 were 
substantively enacted on 2 july 2013 this will reduce the company’s future current tax charge accordingly 
the deferred tax asset at 31 december 2013 has been calculated based on the rates of 20 substantively enacted at the balance sheet date 
notes to the financial statements continued 59 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
11 deferred tax asset
2014
£000
2013
£000
at beginning of year 61 80
recognised in profit or loss see note 10 16 19
deferred tax asset at end of year 77 61
the asset for deferred taxation consists of the tax effect of temporary differences in respect of
property
plant 
equipment
£000
bad debt
provisions
£000
total
£000
at 1 january 2013 60 20 80
recognised in profit or loss 13 6 19
at 31 december 2013 47 14 61
recognised in profit or loss 16 – 16
at 31 december 2014 63 14 77
at 31 december 2013 the group had additional unrecognised net deferred tax assets of £451000 following the sale of ppi claimline limited 
no further unrecognised deferred tax asset exists at 31 december 2014
2014
£000
2013
£000
unrecognised deferred tax asset
bad debt provisions – 431
property plant  equipment – 20
at 31 december 2014 – 451
12 goodwill
nah
£000
ppic
£000
total
£000
cost
at 1 january 2013 39897 6153 46050
transfer to assets held for sale – 6153 6153
at 31 december 2013 39897 – 39897
at 31 december 2014 39897 – 39897
impairment
at 1 january 2013 – – –
impairment charge for the year – 4888 4888
transfer to assets held for sale – 4888 4888
at 31 december 2013 – – –
at 31 december 2014 – – –
net book value   
at 31 december 2013 39897 – 39897
at 31 december 2014 39897 – 39897
where goodwill arose as part of a business acquisition it forms part of the cgu asset carrying value which is tested for impairment annually the 
group has determined that for the purposes of impairment testing each segment ie solicitor income and products and prelaspo ate is the 
appropriate level at which to test nah comprises three cgus namely the operating segments of solicitor income products and prelaspo ate 
whereas ppi claimline is its own cgu goodwill in relation to the acquisition of ppi claimline has been included within assets held for sale in 31 
december 2013 and was sold during 2014 therefore goodwill at 31 december 2013 and 2014 related to the nah segments only due to the 
discontinued nature of the prelaspo ate product no goodwill has been allocated to it
the recoverable amounts for the cgus are predominantly based on value in use which is calculated on the cash flows expected to be generated by 
the division using the latest budget data for the coming year extrapolated at a 5 2013 5 annual growth rate for four years and no growth into 
perpetuity discounted at a post tax wacc of 8 2013 14 the key assumptions in the value in use calculation are the discount rate and 
growth rate the discount rate is based on the group’s posttax cost of capital and estimated cost of equity which the directors consider equated to 
market participants’ rate the movement in discount rate compared to prior year is a result of having greater access to capital as a direct result of 
listing on aim nahl group plc 60
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
12 goodwill continued
in preparing the formal budget for the next financial period expected ebitda is based on past experience of the performance of the cgus adjusted 
for known changes
based on the operating performance of the nah cgu no impairment loss was identified at any of the two years under review and there is 
sufficient headroom to indicate that no reasonable change to key assumptions would result in an impairment of this goodwill the key 
assumptions were as follows
2014 2013
discount rate 8 14
budgeted operating cash flow growth average of next 4 years 5 5
  
the following table shows the percentage to which the discount rate would need to increase and the percentage by which the budgeted operating 
cash flows would need to decrease in order for the estimated recoverable amount of the cgu to be equal to the carrying amount
2014 2013
discount rate 42 57
budgeted operating cash flow growth average of next 5 years 20 32
13 investments
the company has the following investments in subsidiaries 
ownership
name of subsidiary
country of 
incorporation and 
principal place of 
business
class of
shares held
principal
activity 2014 2013
consumer champion group limited united kingdom ordinary holding company 100 –
nah holdings limited united kingdom ordinary holding company 100 –
nah group limited united kingdom ordinary ordinary 100 –
seebeck 62 limited united kingdom ordinary ordinary – –
national accident helpline limited united kingdom ordinary agency services for solicitors 100 –
ppi claimline limited united kingdom ordinary agency services for solicitors – –
lawyers agency services limited united kingdom ordinary nontrading 100 –
accident helpline limited united kingdom ordinary dormant 100 –
nah support services limited united kingdom ordinary dormant 100 –
tiger claims limited united kingdom ordinary dormant 100 –
your law limited united kingdom ordinary dormant 100 –
nah legal services limited united kingdom ordinary dormant 100 –
 these subsidiaries have been disposed of during the year and were classified as held for sale at 31 december 2013
at the 31 december 2014 the value of the investment in consumer champion group limited it’s only directly owned subsidiary was as follows
valuation 
total
£000
at 1 january 2014 –
at acquisition 67200
realisation of investment 14500
at 31 december 2014 52700
the valuation of the investment at acquisition was management’s best estimate at the time of the transaction 
notes to the financial statements continued 61 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
14 property plant and equipment 
fixtures and
 fittings
£000
total
£000
cost
at 1 january 2014 1045 1045
additions 27 27
at 31 december 2014 1072 1072
depreciation and impairment 
at 1 january 2014 674 674
depreciation charge for the year 212 212
at 31 december 2014 886 886
net book value
at 31 december 2013 371 371
at 31 december 2014 186 186
fixtures and
fittings
£000
total
£000
cost
at 1 january 2013 1138 1138
additions 177 177
transfer to assets held for sale 270 270
at 31 december 2013 1045 1045
depreciation and impairment 
at 1 january 2013 522 522
depreciation charge for the year 245 245
transfer of assets held for sale 93 93
at 31 december 2013 674 674
net book value
at 31 december 2012 616 616
at 31 december 2013 371 371
15 trade and other receivables
group 
2014 
£000
company 
2014 
£000
group 
2013 
£000
company
2013 
£000
trade receivables 3176 – 2881 –
other receivables 355 – 78 –
3531 – 2959 –
prepayments 194 – 209 –
amounts due from group undertakings – 25306 – –
3725 25306 3168 –
    
16 trade and other payables
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
current
trade payables 1442 851
other taxation and social security 414 693
other creditors and accruals 2962 3053
customer deposits 2870 3241
7688 7838 nahl group plc 62
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
17 other interestbearing loans and borrowings
this note provides information about the contractual terms of the company’s other interestbearing loans and borrowings which are 
measured at amortised cost for more information about the company’s exposure to interest rate and foreign currency risk see note 21
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
current liabilities
current portion of secured bank loans 2950 6789
2950 6789
noncurrent liabilities
secured bank loans 2951 –
shares classified in consumer champion group limited as debt – 70
2951 70
total other interestbearing loans and borrowings 5901 6859
terms and debt repayment schedule 
currency
nominal 
interest 
rate
year of
 maturity
face 
value
2014 
£000
carrying 
amount
2014 
£000
face 
value
2013 
£000
carrying 
amount
2013 
£000
loan a gbp 300 above libor 2014 – – 926 921
loan b gbp 350 above libor 2014 – – 5901 5868
bank loan gbp 250 above libor 2016 5901
1
5901 – –
shares classified as debt gbp 8 2014 – – 70 70
5901 5901 6897 6859
    
1 the loan of £5901000 is payable 50 on 30 december 2015 and 50 on 30 december 2016 interest is payable at 25 above libor
18 share capital 
2014 2013
number of shares
41150000 ‘a’ ordinary shares of £00025 each 41150000 –
125000 ‘a’ ordinary shares of £050 each cancelled – 125000
75000 ‘b’ ordinary shares of £050 each cancelled – 75000
67533 ‘c’ ordinary shares of £1 each cancelled – 67533
37092 ‘d’ ordinary shares of £1 each cancelled – 37092
25663 ‘e’ ordinary shares of £1 each cancelled – 25663
40957 ‘f’ ordinary shares of £001 each cancelled – 40957
69000 ‘a’ preference shares of £1 each cancelled – 69000
1000 ‘b’ preference shares of £1 each cancelled – 1000
41150000 411245
  
£000 £000
allotted called up and fully paid
41150000 ‘a’ ordinary shares of £00025 each 103 –
125000 ‘a’ ordinary shares of £050 each cancelled – 63
75000 ‘b’ ordinary shares of £050 each cancelled – 38
67533 ‘c’ ordinary shares of £1 each cancelled – 68
37092 ‘d’ ordinary shares of £1 each cancelled – 37
25663 ‘e’ ordinary shares of £1 each cancelled – 25
40957 ‘f’ ordinary shares of £001 each cancelled – –
69000 ‘a’ preference shares of £1 each cancelled – 69
1000 ‘b’ preference shares of £1 each cancelled – 1
103 301
shares classified as liabilities – 70
shares classified in equity 103 231
103 301
  
the share for share exchange includes all share classes with the exception of ‘a’ preference shares and ‘b’ preference shares
notes to the financial statements continued 63 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
19 sharebased payments
during the year share options of employees in the shares of consumer champion group limited vested as the change of control vesting 
condition was met as a result of the placing of shares on aim all options held at the 31 december 2013 were exercised
the group now operates three employee share plans as follows
saye plan
the saye plan is available to all employees options may be satisfied by newly issued ordinary shares ordinary shares purchased in the 
market by an employees’ trust or by the transfer of ordinary shares held in treasury
emi scheme
the emi plan provides for the grant to selected employees of the group of rights to acquire whether by subscription or market purchase 
ordinary shares in the company options options may be granted as taxfavoured enterprise management incentive options emi options 
or nontax favoured options
ltip
the ltip will enable selected employees including executive directors to be granted awards in respect of ordinary shares awards may be 
granted in the form of nil or nominal cost options to acquire ordinary shares or contingent rights to receive ordinary shares awards may be 
satisfied by newly issued ordinary shares ordinary shares purchased in the market by an employees’ trust or by the transfer of ordinary 
shares held in treasury
the terms and conditions of grants of share options to employees of the group in the shares of nahl group plc are as follows
grant dateemployees entitlednature of scheme number of instruments vesting conditions contractual life of options
equitysettled award to 21 employees granted by the 
parent company on 26 january 2010
5683 ‘d’ and ‘e’ shares 
and 5683 ‘f’ shares
vested on change 
of control
vested 
equitysettled award to 8 employees granted by the 
parent company on 25 august 2010
868 ‘e’ shares and 1262 
‘f’ shares
vested on change 
of control
vested
equitysettled award to 26 employees granted by the 
parent company on 10 october 2011
2350 ‘e’ shares and 
2350 ‘f’ shares
vested on change 
of control
vested
equitysettled award to 18 employees granted by the 
parent company on 1 november 2012
685 ‘e’ shares and 
685 ‘f’ shares
vested on change 
of control
vested
equitysettled award to 3 employees granted by the 
parent company on 3 december 2012
375 ‘e’ shares and 
375 ‘f’ shares
vested on change 
of control
vested
equitysettled award to 3 employees granted by the  
parent company on 31 december 2013
1045 ‘e’ shares and  
1045 ‘f’ shares
vested on change 
of control
vested
saye equitysettled award to 56 employees granted by 
the parent company on 29 may 2014
270448 ordinary shares performance based announcement of 
2017 results
ltip equitysettled award to 4 employees granted by the 
parent company on 29 may 2014
790004 ordinary shares performance based announcement of 
2017 results
emi equitysettled award to 9 employees granted by the 
parent company on 11 december 2014
899996 ordinary shares performance based announcement of 
2017 results
the number and weighted average exercise prices of share options are as follows
2014
weighted 
average 
exercise 
price
£
2014
number of 
options
no
2013
weighted 
average 
exercise 
price
£
2013 
number of 
options
no
outstanding at the beginning of the year 666 16356 598 16288
exercised during the year 666 16356 – –
granted during the year 113 1970448 1201 2090
forfeited during the year 160 20700 498 2022
outstanding at the end of the year 113 1949748 666 16356
exercisable at the end of the year – – – –
a charge of £288000 2013 credit of £7000 has been made through profit and loss in the current year nahl group plc 64
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
notes to the financial statements continued
20 basic earnings per share
the calculation of basic earnings per share at 31 december 2014 is based on profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of £8473000 
2013 £9458000 and a weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding of 41150000 as a result of the transactions relating to 
company’s ipo on 29 may 2014 the total issued ordinary shares have changed materially the directors have presented adjusted 
comparative periods to provide an eps that gives users a useful comparison for basic and diluted eps
profit attributable to ordinary shareholders basic
£000 2014 2013
profit for the year attributable to the shareholders – continuing 9478 10330
loss for the year attributable to the shareholders – discontinued 1005 872
profit for the year attributable to the shareholders – total 8473 9458
weighted average number of ordinary shares basic
number note 2014 2013 adjusted
issued ordinary shares at 1 january 18 41150000 41150000
weighted average number of ordinary shares at 31 december 18 41150000 41150000
basic earnings per share p
2014 2013 adjusted
group 206 230
continuing operations 230 251
discontinued operations 24 21
the company has in place sharebased payment schemes to reward employees at the 31 december 2014 the ltip emi and saye schemes 
are at a value that would reasonably result in the options being exercised the total number of options available for these schemes included in 
the diluted earnings per share calculation is 790004 there are no other diluting items
diluted earnings per share p
2014 2013 adjusted
group 202 225 
continuing operations 226 246
discontinued operations 24 21 
21 financial instruments
a fair values of financial instruments
the group’s principal financial instruments comprise interestbearing borrowings cash and shortterm deposits the main purpose of these 
financial instruments is to raise finance for the group’s operations the group has various other financial instruments such as trade and 
other receivables and trade and other payables that arise directly from its operations
the main risks arising from the group’s financial instruments are interest rate risk and liquidity risk the board reviews and agrees policies 
for managing each of these risks and they are summarised below there have been no substantive changes in the group’s exposure to 
financial instrument risks or its objectives policies and processes for managing and measuring those risks during the periods in this report 
unless otherwise stated
trade and other receivables
the fair value of trade and other receivables are estimated as the present value of future cash flows discounted at the market rate of interest 
at the balance sheet date if the effect is material
trade payables
the fair value of trade payables is estimated as the present value of future cash flows discounted at the market rate of interest at the balance 
sheet date if the effect is material
cash and cash equivalents
the fair value of cash and cash equivalents is estimated as its carrying amount where the cash is repayable on demand where it is not repayable on 
demand then the fair value is estimated at the present value of future cash flows discounted at the market rate of interest at the balance sheet date
interestbearing borrowings
fair value is calculated based on the present value of future principal and interest cash flows discounted at the market rate of interest at the 
balance sheet date 
the interest rate used to discount estimated cash flows of 8 is based on market rates  65 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
21 financial instruments continued
the fair values of all financial assets and financial liabilities by class which approximate to their carrying values shown in the balance sheet 
are as follows
fair value  
hierarchy 
carrying 
amount
2014 
£000
fair  
value
2014 
£000
carrying 
amount
2013 
£000
fair  
value
2013 
£000
cash and receivables
cash and cash equivalents level 1 13637 13637 14249 14249
cash and cash equivalents note 3 – – 194 194
13637 13637 14443 14443
trade and other receivables note 15 level 3 3531 3531 2959 2959
trade and other receivables note 3 level 3 – – 1201 1201
total financial assets 17168 17168 18603 18603
financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
other interestbearing loans and borrowings note 17 level 3 5901 5901 6859 6859
trade payables note 16 level 3 1442 1442 851 851
trade payables note 3 – – 99 99
total financial liabilities measured at amortised cost 7343 7343 7809 7809
fair value hierarchy
ifrs 7 requires fair value measurements to be recognised using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used in the 
value measurements
level 1 – inputs are quoted prices in active markets
level 2 – a valuation that uses observable inputs for the asset or liability other than quoted prices in active markets
level 3 – a valuation using unobservable inputs ie a valuation technique
there were no transfers between levels throughout the periods under review
b credit risk
financial risk management 
credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the company if a customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual 
obligations and arises principally from the company’s receivables from customers and investment securities
management consider the credit risk to be low as a result of the deposits held for all significant customers as at 31 december 2014 these 
deposits reflect 904 2013 1125 of the balance of trade receivables
exposure to credit risk
the maximum exposure to credit risk at the balance sheet date by class of financial instrument was
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
trade receivables 3176 2881
deposits with key customers are held to mitigate the potential credit risk at each balance sheet date the amount of deposit held was
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
customer deposits 2870 3241
credit quality of financial assets and impairment losses
the aging of trade receivables at the balance sheet date was
gross
2014 
£000
impairment
2014 
£000
gross
2013 
£000
impairment
2013 
£000
not past due 1–30 days 3247 71 2951 70
3247 71 2951 70 nahl group plc 66
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
21 financial instruments continued
the movement in the allowance for impairment in respect of trade receivables during the year was as follows
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
balance at 1 january 70 1465
allowance recognisedreversed 1 19
transferred to assets held for sale – 1376
balance at 31 december 71 70
the allowance account for trade receivables is used to record impairment losses unless the company is satisfied that no recovery of the 
amount owing is possible at that point the amounts considered irrecoverable are written off against the trade receivables directly
c liquidity risk 
financial risk management 
liquidity risk arises from the group’s management of working capital and the finance charges on its debt instruments and repayments of 
principal it is the risk that the group will encounter difficulty in meeting its financial obligations as they fall due the group’s objective is to 
maintain a balance between continuity of funding and flexibility through the use of overdrafts and loans to ensure that it will always have 
sufficient cash to allow it to meet its liabilities when they become due
the following are the contractual maturities of financial liabilities including estimated interest payments and excluding the effects of 
netting agreements 
2014
secured 
bank loans
£000
shares 
classified as 
debt
£000
trade 
and other 
payables
£000
total
£000
nonderivative financial instruments
carrying amount 5901 – 1442 7343
contractual cash flows
1 year or less 3131 – 1442 4573
1 to 2 years 3041 – – 3041
2 to 5 years – – – –
5 years and over – – – –
6172 – 1442 7614
2013
nonderivative financial instruments
carrying amount 6789 70 851 7710
contractual cash flows
1 year or less 7261 – 851 8112
1 to 2 years – – – –
2 to 5 years – 95 – 95
5 years and over – – – –
7261 95 851 8207
d market risk
financial risk management 
market risk is the risk that changes in market prices such as foreign exchange rates interest rates and equity prices will affect the 
company’s income or the value of its holdings of financial instruments
market risk – foreign currency risk
the company has no foreign currency risk as all transactions are in sterling
market risk – interest rate risk
profile
the group is exposed to interest rate risk from its use of interestbearing financial instruments this is a market risk that the fair value or 
future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in interest rates
notes to the financial statements continued 67 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
21 financial instruments continued
at the balance sheet dates there were no interestbearing financial assets however the interest rate profile of the company’s 
interestbearing financial liabilities was
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
fixed rate instruments
financial liabilities – 4194
variable rate instruments
financial liabilities 5901 2665
total interestbearing financial instruments 5901 6859
sensitivity analysis 
a change of 05 in interest rates at the balance sheet date would increasedecrease profit or loss in the following year by the amounts 
shown below this calculation assumes that the change occurred at the balance sheet date and had been applied to risk exposures existing at 
that date 
this analysis assumes that all other variables remain constant and considers the effect of financial instruments with variable interest rates 
the analysis is performed on the same basis for the comparative periods
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
profit for the year
increase 30 12
decrease 30 12
market risk – equity price risk
the company does not have an exposure to equity price risk as it holds no investment in equity securities which are classified as available for 
sale financial assets or designated at fair value through profit or loss 
e capital management
company
the group’s objectives when maintaining capital are to safeguard the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide an 
adequate return to shareholders capital comprises the group’s equity ie share capital including preference shares share premium own 
shares and retained earnings as well as bank loans
22 operating leases
noncancellable operating lease rentals are payable as follows
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
less than one year 31 232
between one and five years 66 259
97 491
the company leases a number of office buildings under operating leases during the year £160000 was recognised as an expense in the 
income statement in respect of operating leases 2013 £227000 at 31 december 2014 leases for the office buildings had three months 
remaining the company expects to enter into leases for these properties in the next year
23 commitments
capital commitments
at 31 december 2014 the group had no capital commitments 2013 £nil nahl group plc 68
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
notes to the financial statements continued
24 transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
on 29 may 2014 nahl group plc was admitted to trading on aim the steps required to complete this admission have been included within 
the condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity and have been further explained below
issue of deferred share
a deferred share was issued at a premium resulting in the transfer of £50000000 from the merger reserve to share premium nahl group plc 
declared a bonus issue of a single deferred share of £00001 a ‘deferred share’ with a share premium £50000000 this transaction resulted 
in £50000000 of the merger reserve being transferred to the share premium account split pro rata between the different classes of shares
disposal of assets held for sale
the market value of the group of companies headed by seebeck 62 limited classified as held for sale was calculated as being £1500000  
by the directors of the company on 15 may 2014 seebeck 62 limited was then demerged via a capital reduction of this value to the share 
premium account a same day registration of the reduction of capital at companies house has been made further details of the demerger  
can be seen in note 3
issue of new ordinary shares
on 29 may 2014 1150000 new ordinary shares with a par value of £00025 were issued these raised an additional £2300000 funds for the 
company the fees relating to this transaction totalled £1436000 these costs have been charged as a reduction to share premium resulting 
in a net increase to share premium of £861000 and share capital of £3000
other transactions with owners
included within other transactions with owners are the following transactions resulting in a net impact of £45000
• share capital has been reduced by £131000 this is the result of £172000 reduction in the par value of existing shares and the bonus issue 
of f shares increasing share capital by £41000 the bonus issue occurred prior to merger where consumer champion group limited 
declared a 99 for 1 f share bonus issue to all shareholders using distributable reserves there was then an f share 1 for 100 consolidation
• acquisition accounting for the purchase also resulted in the removal of interest in own shares of £14000
• share premium has been increased to allow the £172000 reduction in the par value of shares set off by the removal of £100000 existing 
share premium as part of the acquisition accounting
25 related parties
transactions with key management personnel
key management personnel in situ at 31 december 2014 and their immediate relatives control 137 of the voting shares of the company
key management personnel are considered to be the directors of the company as well as those of national accident helpline limited and any 
other management serving as part of the executive team detailed below is the total value of transactions with these individuals
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
shortterm employment benefits 2307 2364 
termination benefits 150 –
2457 2364
some members of key management personnel received loans from the company for the purchase of consumer champion group limited 
shares from the employee benefit trust ebt these loans were not recognised on the balance sheet as the assets and liabilities of the ebt 
are recognised on the company balance sheet all loans were repaid during 2014 the total value of these loans at 31 december 2013 was 
£186000 these loans do not accrue interest
at 31 december 2014 no loans remained outstanding from key management personnel 2013 £27000 this loan is included within other 
receivables and was made to enable the director to purchase shares in the company the loan did not accrue interest and was repaid during 2014 
on 15 may 2014 ppi claimline limited ppi a previously 100 owned subsidiary was sold as a result of the directors of nahl group plc 
continuing to own shares in ppi it is considered to be a related party transactions with ppi since the disposal were invoices for services 
provided by consumer champion group limited for it related solutions totalling £2366 at 31 december 2014 £360 remained outstanding 69 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 financials
26 net debt
net cash included cash and cash equivalents secured bank loans loan notes and preference shares
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
cash and cash equivalents 13637 14249
other interestbearing loans and loan notes – current liabilities 5901 6789
preference shares – non current liabilities – 70
net cash 7736 7390
set out below is a reconciliation of movements in net cash during the period
2014 
£000
2013 
£000
net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 806 20022
cash relating to discontinued operations 194 196
cash and cash equivalents net inflow from increase in debt and debt financing 996 29038
movement in net borrowings resulting from cash flows 384 8820
other noncash changes 38 2674
movement in cash in period 346 6146
net cash at beginning of period 7390 1244
net cash at end of period 7736 7390
27 events after the reporting period
on 17 february 2015 the group acquired the entire share capital of fitzalan partners limited due to the proximity of the acquisition date to 
the release of the annual report valuations of assets and liabilities acquired along with the disclosures required by ifrs 3 revised have not 
yet been prepared disclosure will be made in future annual financial statements nahl group plc is paying up to £43m consideration made up 
of an initial cash consideration of £30m and further cash of up to £13m prior to 31 december 2015 dependent on certain conditions being met
fitzalan partners limited a uk company founded in 2011 is an online marketing specialist that uses innovative proprietary technology 
platforms to target home buyers and sellers in england and wales and offers lead generation services to plfs and surveyors in the 
conveyancing sector nahl group plc 70
annual report and accounts 2014 other information
company registration number
08996352
auditors
kpmg llp
altius house
one north fourth street 
milton keynes
mk9 1ne
 
solicitors to the company
pinsent masons llp
3 colmore circus
birmingham
b4 6bh
 
bankers
yorkshire bank plc
temple point
no1 temple row
birmingham
b2 5yb
 
nomad
investec bank plc  
2 gresham street 
london 
ec2v 7qp 
united kingdom
 
company registrars 
capita asset services
34 beckenham road 
beckenham 
kent 
br3 4tu
 
financial pr 
fti consulting
200 aldersgate 
aldersgate street 
london 
ec1a 4hd
advisors 71 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 other information
access to justice bill act of parliament replacing the legal aid system
after the event insurance an insurance product offered to consumers through allianz to insure any compensation when 
the claim is settled
allianz national accident helpline’s insurance partner providing after the event insurance
ate after the event insurance
cmr claims management regulator
cru compensation recovery unit
fitzalan fitzalan partners
group nahl group plc
laspo legal aid sentencing and punishment of offenders act 2012 enacted 1 april 2013
live chat webbased chat service offered to consumers online via the national accident helpline and 
underdog websites
lsa legal service advisor  fully trained employees within national accident helpline’s contact 
centre taking calls from consumers to assist with their claim
nah national accident helpline
nonrta nonroad traffic accident includes employer occupier and public liability
pi personal injury  an injury or illness suffered through no fault of an individual’s own for 
example in a road accident a slip trip or fall medical negligence work accident or an  
industrial disease
plf panel law firm – a personal injury law firm selected to sit on our panel and take our enquiries
postlaspo after enactment of laspo on 1 april 2013
ppc pay per click
prelaspo before enactment of laspo on 1 april 2013
rta road traffic accident
saye the save as you earn share scheme that was introduced for employees on admission giving 
them an opportunity to purchase shares in the company at a discounted rate following a 
threeyear savings period
seo search engine optimisation
glossary nahl group plc annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc
1430 montagu court 
kettering parkway 
kettering 
northamptonshire 
nn15 6xr
t 44 0 1536 527 500 
e investorsnahlcouk
www nahlgroupplccouk


Summary:
 strategic report annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc 10
business model in action
connecting
consumers and solicitors seamlessly
on average our plfs 
rate nah as nine out of 
ten for our consultancy 
and performance audit 
services
2

910
in 2014 nah connected around 83000 
consumers to our panel of 50 specialist law 
firms across the uk our plfs cover all areas 
of pi claims and are selected based on their 
ability to deliver quality advice and 
outcomes for consumers and abide by a 
rigorous service level agreement it is vital 
to the nah brand that from the first call to 
case conclusion the consumer experience is a 
positive one we conduct regular audits of 
our plfs and share best practice to ensure we 
achieve this important goal
our research confirms that many consumers are not 
comfortable dealing directly with a solicitor only 22
1
 
choose to contact a solicitor when initially considering 
making a claim the nah brand provides consumers 
with the confidence and reassurance that they will be 
given the appropriate support and advice from the 
outset without the worry of dealing with legal jargon 
or hidden fees
satisfied solicitor
“we started working with nah in 1995 they understand 
consumers’ needs and have built a brand which consumers 
trust their legal services advisors are very effective in 
filtering calls to ensure we receive quality enquiries from 
genuine claimants their solicitor services help our firm to 
process claims efficiently and profitably and importantly 
improve the experience for the claimant
they lobby government effectively and actively champion 
the cause of the underdog with campaigns such as stop 
nuisance calls they are truly passionate about delivering a 
positive consumer experience and conduct regular solicitor 
firm audits and share best practice among the panel law 
firms we find their approach innovative and professional 
and enjoy working together to deliver access to justice to our 
consumers”
david byrne
partner scott rees  co solicitors
1  source independent research the nursery 2014
2  source average of survey results following nah visits 2014 strategic report annual report and accounts 2014
nahl group plc 11
connecting
once their enquiry is qualified 95 of 
consumers choose to be transferred 
immediately to a solicitor using our direct 
call transfer technology this supports  
case conversion and delivers a better 
consumer experience
50
nah works with 50 of the leading pi law 
firms in the country more than half of 
which we have partnered with for over  
ten years
95 
direct call
transfers
as a market leader with years of experience 
and a robust business model solicitor firms 
are keen to work with us our scale and 
marketing expertise means we are able to 
deliver the certainty of consistent volumes 
of the right mix of enquiries this 
supports our plfs to optimise 
business performance by effectively 
planning budgets and resource 
and managing growth in a 
sustainable way plfs also use 
services from nah such as 
ate insurance and medical 
assessments which help 
them to run cases 
effectively providing an 
additional revenue stream 
for nah 
nah’s national solicitor network comprises four 
panels
personal injury panel covering employment liability occupier liability 
public liability and rta cases
medical negligence panel covering medical negligence cases which are 
more complex and specialised
specialist panel covering a number of different enquiry types which fall 
outside the other panels such as industrial disease and international cases
associate panel this panel does not take enquiries from nah but takes 
products such as ate insurance 
katy philpin
contact centre team manager nahl group plc 12
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
we have achieved positive results in  
a period of considerable change for the 
business we have made good progress 
with our growth strategy supported  
by our first acquisition
we have made positive progress  
in 2014 and despite our leadership 
position the group has plenty of 
opportunity to increase our share  
in a large fragmented market
chief 
executive’s 
review
overview
2014 was an important year for nahl as we 
took the step to become a quoted company 
throughout the year trading remained 
strong and we are delighted to report results 
ahead of market expectations the growth 
achieved is testimony to the professionalism 
of our team and the continued support that 
we receive from our consumers our plfs and 
our partners
the pi market has undoubtedly gone through 
a period of dramatic change in the last few 
years the new regulatory regime is now 
well embedded nah goes from strength to 
strength on the back of a single minded 
approach to serving our plfs and retaining 
our position as the uk’s leading consumer 
business in the pi market our focus on 
quality and our passion for providing access 
to justice for those with a valid injury claim 
remains at the core of our proposition
results
for the past 20 years we have been 
committed to our ethical approach in a 
challenging sector 2014 saw a significant 
growth in the nah business with a 153 
increase in enquiries driving a 104 
increase in revenue and a 293 operating 
profit improvement this growth resulted 
from improved operational efficiency more 
effective marketing and an increase in rta 
driven by market consolidation as many 
small claims management companies ceased 
operating in the pi market our brand 
leadership enabled us to take advantage of 
this and increase our share in all of the key 
sectors in which we operate our enquiry 
growth has also been strong in our target 
sectors of nonrta and medical negligence 
which has enabled us to retain the high 
quality mix of enquiries that our plfs value
market overview
the pi market is estimated at £3bn
1
 and has 
approximately one million claims per 
annum the market remains relatively flat 
although medical negligence is growing at 
124
1
 and nonrta at 71
1
 pa the market 
has seen some consolidation however it 
remains fragmented with our overall share 
at an estimated 4
2
 with market shares of 
19
2
 in rta 116 
2
 in nonrta and 58 
2
 
in medical negligence 
russell atkinson
chief executive officer
1 source cru analysis 2014
2 source cru analysis and management estimates 13 nahl group plc
annual report and accounts 2014 strategic report
no 1
nah is the number one daytime tv and 
online spender in the pi sector
 
source neilsen media research 2014
key strengths
nah benefits from a number of 
strengths which make it the ideal 
marketing and services provider for 
legal practices connecting injured 
parties with high quality plfs and 
promoting access to justice within 
the uk
•  market leader which is well 
positioned to benefit from continued 
consolidation
•  well recognised trusted brand 
supported by differentiated 
marketing established through 
more than £200 million of media 
spend since 1993
•  brand media spend marketing 
knowhow and plf relationships 
that act as barriers to entry
•  focused on the highest growth 
segments of a large fragmented 
market
•  strong financial performance 
supported by high cash generation 
and a robust balance sheet
•  experienced management team with 
proven ability to manage change
1 source independent research the nursery 2014
2 source google december 2014
3 source neilsen media research 2014
brand
the cornerstone of our proposition is the 
nah brand and its underdog character 
which is based on insight into how our 
consumers feel when making a claim 
throughout 2014 we have continued to 
strengthen our position within the pi sector 
as
• the most trusted brand on tv
1
• the most searched for online brand 
by name
2
• the number one daytime tv and overall 
online spender
3
• the number one in internet hits
3
the strength of the brand positioning and in 
particular our trust rating has allowed us to 
continue to lead the way as the market’s 
leading online brand our expertise in 
marketing has helped us to navigate our way 
through the changing media landscape and 
make real progress in seo and social media
for the past 20 years we have been 
committed to the highest ethical standards 
and improving those of the industry in 
which we operate we are particularly 
passionate about our stop nuisance calls 
campaign which we launched during 2014 
and the group remains at the forefront of 
efforts to drive out unsolicited texts and calls 
which our consumers tell us are a real issue 
panel law firms
nah prides itself on the relationships that it 
has with its plfs many dating back over ten 
years throughout 2014 we have continued 
to support our panel of leading specialist 
injury lawyers with data and information 
that will help them to understand best 
practice in running cases this continuing 
investment in data sharing and advice is 
designed to improve our plfs’ profitability 
and further enhance the attractiveness of 
our cases
during 2014 we have evolved and developed 
our plf strategy with increasing enquiries 
we work hard to ensure that we are aligned 
with quality law firms who can handle large 
volumes of caseloads with the highest 
calibre of advice to our consumers whilst 
delivering a cost effective service plfs need 
depth of resources both legal and financial 
to cope with constant growth in volumes 
the success of our plfs is closely entwined 
with our own success and is a significant 
focus of our attention during 2014 the 
average price paid by plfs was down 32
the membership of our panel during 2014 has 
changed in line with our expectations 
although with increasing volumes we are 
beginning to explore new partnering 
arrangements that will allow us to better deal 
with volume growth this allows us to 
develop alternative strategies for dealing 
with high growth in volumes cost effectively 
whilst maintaining the quality of our panel
products
providing first class products and services 
through our key partnership relationships is 
critical to our plfs being able to process the 
case efficiently in particular ate is the 
cornerstone of ‘no win no fee’ and is 
fundamental to the consumer feeling 
confident in progressing a case without risk 
of any legal costs 
the group’s products continue to perform 
broadly in line with our expectations 
although it has become clear that we need to 
adapt our nonmedical negligence ate 
product in the light of postlaspo market 
practices as a result we expect to launch a 
new product in the first half of 2015 that 
should be better suited to current market risk 
and pricing and we expect this will deliver 
increased volumes during the second half of 
the year 
we have also trialled and will shortly be 
launching an enhanced medical negligence 
screening service this service will 
accelerate the case progression and reduce 
cost risk for our plfs bringing more 
certainty to the legal process we expect to 
see material benefit from 2016