It has been a year of management and team departures but Olswang today reported that its revenues for the financial year 2014/15 are up 8% to £126.7m from £117.6m, while profits per equity partner (PEP) are expected to hold steady at £490,000.
The firm has also reported that its debt position has also significantly improved this year with net bank debt standing at £10.1m, down from £22m the year before. While its final financials are subject to verification and audit, the firm said it anticipates seeing PEP remain unchanged on last year at £490,000, the result of increased investment in IT and knowledge.
Olswang’s CEO, Paul Stevens (pictured), said: ‘Our initial results for financial year 2014/15 are very satisfactory. Activity is up on the previous year and we have generated more revenue in the TMT sectors too. We have seen very strong results in our finance and real estate groups in London, as well as in our Munich office, which more than doubled in size over the course of the year. Our Munich office’s growth has been driven by the close collaboration among our international IP practice group and the significant demand for our services in Munich from our TMT clients. In line with that demand, we will continue to build on that success during this coming year. ‘
Nonetheless, it has been a turbulent year for the TMT firm and a difficult start to Stevens’ time as CEO since former managing partner David Stewart departed the firm last October. Since then there have been some other key departures, notably last month when the firm’s Berlin outpost announced that it was ‘decoupling’ from the firm and entered into discussions with a number of international firms in the city, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Morrison & Foerster.
mark.mcateer@legalease.co.uk
For more on Olswang’s strategy and the fallout from Stewart’s departure, see: Evasive Action – Can Olswang live up to its own ambitions?
