Scottish independent Shepherd and Wedderburn has enjoyed a third year of consecutive growth with revenues up 10% to £53m. Similarly profits have increased by 20% to £21.5m.
This growth follows on from a revenue increase of 26% for 2014/15 from £38m to £48m, which included seven months of trading following the acquisition of Tods Murray in October 2014.
Shepherd and Wedderburn chief executive Stephen Gibb said that there had been solid growth in the firm’s core areas of corporate, real estate, dispute resolution and private client, as well as continued substantial investment in areas which are now mainstream or key services.
Gibb (pictured) added: ‘We have seen particular growth in the digital and telecoms sectors during that period, with a number of our key specialisms – such as pensions and share schemes being particularly busy, with corporate restructuring increasingly so. Our strategy of long term investment is working, and contributes strongly to our robust financial position.’
Last month Legal Business revealed Shepherd and Wedderburn was re-entering the Aberdeen market with the recent hire of Pinsent Masons’ John Rutherford as a consultant.
The firm first opened the office in the mid-2000s and had between 12 and 15 people when the office was closed and the firm moved to a serviced offering in 2011. Gibb is hoping to make a wider play than just oil and gas in Aberdeen, by expanding the office to cover the private client and rural market in the North East. This is also bolstered by the people the firm took on from Tods Murray which doubled the firm’s existing private client offering and added capability in rural.
Shepherd and Wedderburn is the third of the big Scottish independents to release financial figures for this year. There was similar double-digit growth at Brodies which continued its strong form announcing a revenue increase of 12% from £57.9m to £65.1m, while profits per equity partner (PEP) is up 13% from £532,000 to £602,000.
However rival independent Maclay Murray & Spens had another disappointing year financially with a 12% drop in PEP from £283,000 to £248,000, while turnover is up 3% to £44.8m.
kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk
