Legal Business Blogs

LLP latest: Penningtons and Addleshaws both see highest-paid member drawings fall during last financial year

Penningtons Manches is the latest top-100 UK firm to file its limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts for 2012/13, which in keeping with a host of leading City firms, reveal that its highest paid member took more than a £52,000 cut, taking home £286,642 compared with £338,759 in 2012.

The firm posted a turnover figure of £32.1m, down very slightly from £32.3m in 2012, with the firm’s profits more or less flat at £11.53m compared to £11.50m.

Long-term loans at the firm, which acquired Manches from administrators PwC in October 2013, increased from £3.7m to £7.7m.

Penningtons employed a total of 283 members of staff in 2013, up from 260 the year before, of which administrative staff grew by 14 heads and client service staff increased by nine.

Elsewhere, Addleshaw Goddard’s LLP filing has revealed that the firm’s highest-paid partner took home £583,173 compared to £592,789 the year before.

Staff headcount at the firm is down to 978 this year from 1,016 last year, with its fee-earner and support staff count down by 23 and 15 heads respectively. As a result, salary costs reduced from £48.2m to £46.9m and social security costs were also down by around £1m. However, a rise in pension costs led to an overall increase in staff costs from £54.7m to £55.2m.

Nonetheless the firm reported no change in its average of 152 partners for the financial year ending 30 April 2013.

The firm posted a dip in turnover from £167.5m to £164.4m in 2013. Operating profit at the firm was also down from £57.7m to £54.3m, while partner profits fell from £55.5m to £52m.

The firm also increased its bank loans to £17m in 2013 with a 2.6% interest rate, compared to £13m in 2012 at 3.2%.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk