NAHL gnarled by Chancellor's personal injury claim changes

Shares in NAHL Group, the operator of the National Accident Helpline, tumbled as investors feared the potential impact of changes to personal injury (PI) claims rules mooted in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.

In his autumn statement to parliament on Wednesday, George Osborne proposed restricting the ability for sufferers of minor whiplash injuries to claim compensation, with the Government also announcing its intention to increase the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000.

"Clearly this is still at an early stage with little detail available as to how, if and when it might be implemented," AIM-listed NAHL said on Thursday, adding that it thought any move would first be subject to consultation.

"Therefore there is currently a level of uncertainty as to whether these changes will affect NAHL. There is no impact to management's expectations in the short term."

NAHL stressed that its recent acquisitions were not impacted by these changes and provided a more diverse revenue base outside of PI claims, and said further opportunities for expansion to continue this diversification were also being considered..

Last month NAHL completed the purchase of Bush & Company, a provider of expert witness services, following on from February's already successful acquisition of conveyancing firm Fitzalan Partners.

Management remain confident that there will remain a significant market for claims valued below £5,000, which the National Accident Helpline subsidiary was "ideally positioned" to process.

"There may be potential to further accelerate industry consolidation meaning that more competitors are removed from the market, leaving NAHL in a stronger position to grow its market share with higher value claim enquiries," it added.

Investors were less convinced, sending the shares crashing 26% to 287.5p by 1330 GMT on Thursday.