Ashurst is targeting expansion in the US as the firm announces financial results that show profit per equity partner reaching a record high and turnover just shy of £1bn.
The firm’s 2023-24 financial results show revenue climbed 9% to £961m, while PEP went up by 14% to hit £1.336m – a record-high figure that more than makes up for a slight decline last year that edged it down from £1.175m to £1.17m.
The revenue increase marks Ashurst’s eight consecutive year of growth, although is is slightly below last year’s increase of 10% and the previous year’s of 12%.
Global CEO Paul Jenkins told Legal Business he is happy with the results for the first year of the firm’s 2027 strategy: ‘We’re clear on where we want to focus, in terms of geography, sectors and practice areas, and it’s very good to see the fruits of that focus.’
He is also optimistic about his firm’s prospects of crossing of crossing a key milestone: ‘We’re in line to cross a billion pounds in revenue for this financial year.’
More than 85% of the firm’s turnover came from its five key sectors: banks and private capital, real estate, technology, infrastructure, and energy and resources, the last of which accounted for 23% of the firm’s revenue.
‘We’re starting to see a bounceback in transactional work’, said Jenkins. ‘But what we saw last year was particular activity in the energy sector, which translated to growth in a variety of areas, including projects, disputes, and corporate M&A.’
The firm’s disputes, investigations and advisory practice grew by 10%, while projects and energy transition was up by 11%, with ‘double-digit growth’ in corporate in Korea, Australia, Singapore, France, Italy, and the UK, and 10% growth in funds and restructuring across Asia Pacific. The firm also saw a strong performance in its consultancy and governance division (up 47%) and its Ashurst Advance business (up 16%), which launched a third global delivery centre in Krakow this February.
The UK, US, and Middle East all outperformed the firmwide revenue increase, with turnover bumps of 13%, 18%, and 17%, respectively. The firm also cited ‘significant growth in Singapore and a solid year in Australia’, with Italy and France as ‘standout jurisdictions’ in continental Europe.
The US growth rate was slightly slower than the 20% increase reported last year, however Jenkins said the firm has ambitious growth plans, targeting energy, real estate, private capital, and technology for further growth stateside.
Jenkins commented: ‘In the US, we’ve continued to double down on infrastructure and financial institutions. We continue to look for the right opportunities in our other key areas of focus. We’re looking for both incremental growth and more significant growth – whether it’s teams or otherwise. But we’ll only do that if it’s the right opportunity from a business perspective, and the right opportunity hasn’t arisen yet.’
US highlights over the last year include derivatives partner Nick Allen joining the New York office from Fried Frank in April, and Los Angeles projects and energy transition specialist Tristan Robinson being made up to partner in the firm’s most recent round of promotions.
The firm has secured a number of notable mandates. Ashurst’s London team is advising real estate investment trust Tritax Big Box REIT on a £3.9bn recommended all-share combination with UK Commercial Property REIT. Globally, the firm’s London and Hong Kong teams also advised The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on the provision of its digital assets platform, known as HSBC Orion, to the Central Moneymarkets Unit of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
One area in which Jenkins sees opportunities, in the US and elsewhere, is private capital. Global private equity practice co-head David Carter left the firm for O’Melveny & Myers last week. However, Jenkins noted that Ashurst promoted PE senior associate Sara Hamzawi to the partnership in April, and pointed to firmwide experience in the broader private capital space beyond private equity.
Finally, Jenkins also highlighted the firm’s pro bono work: ‘Social responsibility is often not touched on in this context, but it’s very important to the firm, and we had our strongest pro bono year ever, at over 65,000 hours across the global firm.’
