Manolete shares slump on settlement slowdown and delayed payments

(Sharecast News) - Shares in insolvency litigation financer Manolete Partners headed south early on Tuesday after it revealed a slowdown in large case settlements and delayed payments from a small number of large debtors.

Manolete said it had onboarded 114 new cases in the five months ended 31 August, generating unaudited unrealised revenue of £4.2m, up from £3.1m across 87 cases in the same period last year. It also confirmed settlement of one of its truck cartel cases, delivering a £3.2m cash injection largely used to reduce debt.

However, while Manolete said the financial year had begun strongly, it noted a slowdown in large case settlements over the past 12 weeks. Four cases settled above £250,000 during the period, compared with ten in the prior year, contributing to lower average realised revenue per completed case, excluding the cartel settlement.

The London-listed group said activity levels had not been linear across the year, with a number of higher-value completions expected in the coming months and a robust pipeline of potential signings, leaving it confident in its full-year outlook, although it does expect realised revenues to be significantly weighted towards the second half.

Manolete added that a small number of large debtors had recently delayed payments, and combined with lower realised revenue, the company's facility remains drawn to £12.5m.

As of 0855 BST, Manolete Partners shares had slumped 10.43% to 103p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com