Law firm Napthens, which has a major base in Liverpool, reveals a cyber attack on a third party IT provider at the end of 2023 had a ‘significant impact’ on both revenues and profits. Tony McDonough reports

Law firm Napthens is counting the cost of a cyber attack which disrupted its operations for almost a month at the end of 2023.

Napthens, which operates a major base in Liverpool, suffered a computer outage caused by a cyber attack on a third party IT service provider. This lasted from November 23 to December 20 in 2023.

In accounts filed on Companies House for the 12 months to March 31, 2024, Napthens is reporting a £1.2m rise in revenues to £22.6m and a fall in pre-tax profits from £5.1m in 2023 to just over £4.4m.

If it were not for the cyber attack the firm says both of these figures would have been higher, although it has not revealed what it believes the total cost was.

In the report the firm said: “During the year the business was temporarily impacted by a cyber attack on a third party IT service provider which limited part of the Napthens Group access to key systems and applications.

“While the affected parts of the group continued to operate on a reduced capacity basis during this period undertaking a risk-based approach where appropriate to ensure all priority transactions were facilitated in line with all regulatory guidelines, the resultant impact on expected turnover and profit of the group during this period was significant.

“The total impact of this outage continues to be quantified in conjunction with the group’s insurers, as growth in revenue would have materially exceeded that experienced.

“The group and its people demonstrated incredible dedication and resilience during this period, and subsequently, ensuring there was no long-term impact on future performance of the group’s business outside of those experienced during that time.”

At the end of the accounting period there were 28 partners at the firm and almost 300 employees. The accounts show partners shared a bonus pot of more than £3.7m with the highest paid partner receiving £221,676.

In September Preston-based Napthens announced it was relocating its Liverpool office within Bruntwood SciTech’s The Plaza, taking a 10-year lease on 5,000 sq ft of office space. According to the accounts the total cost of the lease is £371,880.

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This move to a bigger suite to accommodate the growth in headcount at the firm which now employs 34 people – 20% higher than in 2023. This includes an eight-strong corporate team led by corporate partner Kieran Donovan.

He revealed at the time of the move the Liverpool team was set to generate £3m in revenues in the current financial year, adding: “The move to larger premises demonstrates our confidence in the Liverpool city region economy.”