Addleshaw Goddard today (9 June) unveiled mixed financial results for the 2013/14 period, with turnover up by 3% to £171.4m but net profit down 11% from £44.9m to £39.8m.
The dip in profits was blamed on exceptional expenses during the year, namely partner restructuring and a written off conditional fee agreement, which relates to the firm’s role advising the late Boris Berezovsky in his high profile court battle with former business partner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
In a statement today Addleshaw said: ‘During 2013/14, 14 partners left the firm for a range of changing client, business and personal circumstances. In view of that, the firm has decided to provide for a significant element of the profit share of those partners that will be payable during their notice periods, in its 2013/14 accounts.’
Prior to these exceptional items the firm achieved an underlying fee income of £172.5m, an increase of 5% on the prior year, and the highest for five years, as well as an equity partner profit of £44 million.
In a statement today, John Joyce, Addleshaw Goddard’s newly-elected managing partner, said: ‘Underlying growth of between five and eight per cent combined with a margin of 26 per cent in half a year of investment shows the strength of core business.
‘Our performance climbed throughout the year, and since the half-year more strongly still across the business. Our focus now will be to translate this momentum and our continued investment in the business, in the UK and internationally, into a material improvement in our competitiveness, performance and returns.’
Joyce was appointed in mid-May for a three-year term following a contested election against real estate head Adrian Collins.
kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk
For further commentary on Addleshaw Goddard see Comment: Democracy and half measures are not delivering for Addleshaws
