Anexo Group (ANX ), a specialist integrated credit hire and legal services provider, said it has reached an agreement with Volkswagen AG on behalf of 12,000 claimants in a case related to emissions standards.

The agreement avoids the need for protracted litigation and the legal costs that would have been incurred by both parties had the matter progressed to trial. While Anexo could not disclose the exact terms of the agreement, it said the settlement would boost its cash position by £7.175m.

Given the timing of the agreement, it will not have an impact on Anexo's results for the year ended 31 December 2022.

Background

A preliminary judgment had been announced on 6 April 2020 in the High Court of Justice regarding the class action against Volkswagen and its subsidiaries. Mr. Justice Waksman ruled that Volkswagen had subverted key air pollution tests by using special software to reduce emissions of nitrous oxides under test conditions.

A specialist team within Anexo's legal services division, Bond Turner, acted on behalf of c. 12,000 individuals who had registered their intention to pursue a claim against Volkswagen. A number of these clients were acquired through their status as past customers of Anexo, and others contacted Bond Turner following a marketing campaign, predominantly conducted through social media channels.

Anexo is also pursuing an emissions cases against Mercedes Benz.

FY22 Results

On 10 May 2023, Anexo released final results for FY22 ended December 31 2022. The company showed solid performance in FY22 with resilient trading across all divisions. Revenues increased by 17% to £138.3m (FY21: £118.2m) and gross profits increased by 15.6% from to £105.8, (FY21: £91.5m). Adjusted operating profit increased by 9.1% to £30.2m at a margin of 21.9% (FY21: £27.7m at a margin of 23.5%). Adjusted profit before tax was broadly in line year-on-year, reducing by 0.8% to £23.9m (FY21: £24.1m), reflecting the ongoing investment in staff and marketing costs within Bond Turner.

 

A spokesperson for Volkswagen Group contacted Vox with the following statement:

"We can confirm that the Volkswagen Group and claimants represented by Bond Turner have reached an out of court settlement in relation to a number of claims brought in respect of certain Volkswagen Group vehicles with EA189 diesel engines. The terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential. No admissions in respect of liability, causation or loss have been made by any of the defendants to those claims as part of the settlement. In Volkswagen’s view, the legal costs of litigating this case over many years in England were such that settlement was the most prudent course of action commercially."