Company Announcements

Immediate release                                                                                                                                                          12 May 2022

MJ Hudson Group plc

("MJ Hudson", the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading Update

Trading ahead of expectations for current year after strong third quarter and prestigious client gains

MJ Hudson, the end-to-end solutions provider to the asset management industry, is pleased to announce that trading in the three months to 31 March 2022 ("Q3 FY22") has been particularly strong across the Group with the result that the Company expects to report results ahead of current market consensus for the 12 months ended 30 June 2022 ("FY22"), with encouraging signs that this trend will continue.

The Board expects the Group´s FY22 results to show adjusted EBITDA of at least £8.3m which would represent an increase of at least 45% compared with the prior year.  This outperformance is underpinned by an improved business mix through new client revenues in higher margin segments. Revenue visibility has also improved owing to the largely recurring nature of this new business. MJ Hudson has also secured significant new client wins, the full impact of which will be experienced in FY23.

As outlined in the Interim Results, the key areas of outperformance are the Company´s three transformative growth areas: ESG & Sustainability; the Irish Super ManCo; and Luxembourg fund services. In particular, the Group´s ESG services are gaining traction with new, prestigious global private equity clients. There has been significant interest in the new digital platform, ESGAdvantage, leading to client uptake ahead of management's expectations.

Each of the Group´s three divisions has made client gains in recent months which are expected to advance the Company´s financial position in the full year period to June 2022 and beyond:

·      Data & Analytics - the Group´s ESG activities, which now span Amsterdam, London and New York, have been underpinned by early contributions from new clients, as set out above. The division saw strong performances across all business units, including the January 2021 acquisition of Fund Performance Analytics, where growth and margins remain robust. 

·      Outsourcing - growth in the Group´s operations in Ireland and Luxembourg remain strong with the Outsourcing division as a whole ahead of budget at the nine-month stage.

·      Advisory - there has been a sustained recovery in legal services after a difficult first half, led by an improving trend of client activity and the anticipated gains from hiring of new partners.

Matthew Hudson, CEO of MJ Hudson, commented:

"We are delighted to give such a positive update on trading, today, following an exceptionally strong third quarter. As outlined in our Interim Results, we have a number of high growth opportunities which are beginning to scale.  In particular, our Data & Analytics division (which supports our clients in a number of key areas, including ESG) is attracting some of the largest names in private markets to us. We are increasingly finding ourselves considered the go-to solution provider in the sector. Our ability to win high-profile clients across our other business areas demonstrates the end-to-end strength of the MJ Hudson platform. This, taken together with our exposure to the on-going growth of private markets and our long term relationships with mostly an Anglo-American client base, underpins our growth and makes for a resilient business model.  We look forward to updating the market further on our progress in due course".

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The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

About MJ Hudson

MJ Hudson (AIM:MJH) is the end-to-end solutions provider to the US$100 trillion+ asset management industry, specialising in its fastest growing segment, private markets (including private equity and venture capital). 

The Company offers investors access to the growth in private markets as a tech-enabled 'picks and shovels' play. 

Founded in 2010, by CEO Matthew Hudson (a private markets lawyer and former fund manager), MJ Hudson was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2019. The Group has grown to more than 300 professionals, serving more than 1,000 clients, across the globe, including some of the industry's largest players and 18 of the FTSE 100.

Several factors have contributed to the Group's success, to date, and support strong growth expectations, for the future: 

1.   Private markets are growing fast, and MJ Hudson provides the picks and shovels

2.   As private markets grow, so do scrutiny and regulation, increasing the need for the Group's specialist advice and services, particularly in areas like ESG, where it has award-winning solutions

3.   As it evolves, the sector is increasingly embracing technology, data, and analytics, where MJ Hudson has market-leading and award-winning tools and in which it continues to invest

4.   The Group's multi-service approach creates multiple client touchpoints, building stronger, longer-term relationships, and making it easier to sell in additional MJ Hudson services

5.   Performing these services generates vast amounts of data, which MJ Hudson aggregates and analyses, in order to further support its clients, by developing next-generation tools and fine-tuning existing services

For more information, please visit our website: www.mjhudson.com/investors  

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mj-hudson/
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