DAC Beachcroft has announced today (14 August) its tenth consecutive year of revenue growth, with a total turnover of £326.5m, reflecting a 9% increase from last year’s £300m.
Profit before tax saw a 15% increase, reaching £71m, while profit per member rose to more than £700k, up 7% from last year’s £652k.
Speaking with Legal Business, DAC Beachcroft’s managing partner David Pollitt (pictured) said: ‘This past year, the level and sharpness of the growth have been greater than we’ve seen in recent years. This is a consequence of our strategy being in place and well-established, and we are now seeing the real fruits of all that hard work paying off.’
‘We are never complacent but there is a real sense of momentum. If I look at the first quarter of this financial year, we’re growing at an even greater rate than we did over the course of last year. We’ve carried that growth into this financial year as well, so we’re feeling good,’ he continued.
Pollitt emphasised that this year saw strong results in core practice areas, including insurance, health, real estate, technology, and financial services.
He explained: ‘Often, in firms, you have some areas performing stronger than others, which averages out, but this year, everyone did well. That’s contributed to a greater level of revenue growth than we’ve seen in recent years. I attribute this to being very clear about what we want to do, where we want to do it, and who we want to do it for, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. We know what we’re good at, and we concentrate on that and try to improve in those areas.’
In the UK, the firm saw an 8% increase in revenue to £294.3m, from last year’s £271.8m. The litigation practice and the employment group were pointed to as having performed well, while real estate also saw continued demand despite challenging external markets.
The firm also made several lateral hires, including real estate partner Steven Pitchford from Macfarlanes, and expanded its national casualty practice by adding seven partners across Manchester and Leeds: Nicola Skeldon and Louise Shaw, Anthony Baker, Gavin McClenaghan, Ciaran Garnett, Carl McGuire, and Stephen Johnson, all joining from Plexus Law. It also promoted 11 of its lawyers to partnership at the start of the year.
Pollitt explained that the firm has been focused on international expansion, particularly for its shipping, trade and commodities practice. The firm opened a new office in Peru this year following on from its new offices in Milan, Rome, and Buenos Aires last year.
He said: ‘We have a particular strength in Latin America and Europe, so we focused our growth efforts in these regions over the past 12 to 18 months. Our approach involved talking to clients about where they see growth and specific needs and determining how we can support them in those areas.’
‘This was the basis for each of the three latest offices we opened. Knowing the local partners well and having collaborated with them over several years helped mitigate risks. We’re confident that these openings will bring in trusted partners and generate strong client demand,’ Pollitt continued.
Looking ahead, Pollitt outlined the firm’s targets for FY25, emphasising consistency and opportunity: ‘The plan is more of the same. We have a forward strategy of growth, but even with the best strategy, we may not always foresee the opportunities that arise.’
‘Our goal is to ensure that when these opportunities do present themselves, we’re in the best possible position to capitalise on them. Whether it’s the quality of our lawyers, our clients, or the success of our international offices, these are all areas where we saw opportunities this year that made our firm stronger and better. I want to see more of that moving forward.’
Pollitt concluded: ‘These results show that we are getting even stronger. I want to continue that year after year.’
