No-win, no-fee company adds to outsourcer’s post-Laspo portfolio

Quindell Rob Terry

Acquisitive insurance outsourcer Quindell has purchased no-win, no-fee legal firm Accident Advice Helpline.

The outsourcer first announced the purchase in December. Under the deal, Quindell has bought Accident Advice Helpline’s parent, Abstract Legal Holdings (ALH) for a combination of shares and money.

The company paid a non-refundable deposit of £19.75m in December, made up of 28.6 million shares and £14.97m in cash.

Quindell has today paid the remainder due under the deal through the issue of 242.1 million new shares, which make up 6% of the outsourcer’s total share capital.

Accident Advice Helpline, which was established in 2000, provides not-at-fault drivers involved in accidents access to legal services through a panel of law firms.

Quindell said the company’s no-win, no-fee business model is consistent with those that survived the changes wrought by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Laspo), which came into force on 1 April.

Quindell chief executive Rob Terry said the deal would be immediately accretive to the company’s earmings, taking into account ALH’s own profit and the amounts earned from the group providing legal, medical and rehabilitation services to ALH customers.

He said: “The addition of a proven, trusted, direct consumer channel to our business model allows us to manage claims from the full range of sources through a managed, ethical supply chain, driving down the cost of claims for the industry.”