Quegal

Quegal.com is a live online pay-as-you-go legal advice service.

The UK legal services market is now valued at over £30bn, increasing at a rate of more than 8% per annum. With web transactions predicted to rise by 16.2% year-on-year, UK consumers made 21.2 online purchases each in 2015, at an average unit price of £55.76. A recent IRN consumer survey also showed '40% of respondents would be attracted by the convenience and low cost of online legal services'. So with 86% of the UK adult population now regularly using the internet, and over 22 million people having an average of 3.5 legal needs in the past 3 years (commonly over consumer goods or services), they believe this is a compelling segment for disruption. Their test marketing in the UK generated over 125,000 website visits per day, which exceeds those of top international law firms and equals Facebook on first VC funding. The company also has a projected EBITDA of £2.2m in three years' time. A P/E of 4 gives a company valuation of £8.4m for this period. They intend to channel surplus profits into a gradual European rollout. In addition to this, they have already had considerable interest from major corporations and charities both at home and abroad, including Paramount Pictures (Viacom) and the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. With the legal profession itself looking to benefit from this service, their trusted brand is also followed by over a dozen of the UK's leading Queen's Counsel on Twitter. They are a small team of passionate, tech-savvy British social entrepreneurs, looking to democratise access to legal help and advice for people and businesses, in the wake of the legal aid cuts and resulting advice deserts. Their founder is an internet pioneer, credited by Richard Susskind with creating the first legal services comparison website. Together, they have unrivalled expertise in both the online environment and the practise of law. Their company has also been fortunate enough to attract Draper Esprit as project adviser. And unlike Google, their mantra is 'leave the world a little better than you found it'.