The second top-60 UK firm to unveil a high double-digit turnover increase this week, TLT today (13 May) announced that its 2013/14 revenue has increased by 18% from £49m to £57.9m, almost doubling the 10% growth posted last year.
The 300-lawyer firm, which was shortlisted for National/Regional Firm of the Year in this year’s Legal Business Awards, said today that it also expects to report an increase in profits again this year, after profits rose by 7% to £274,000 in 2012/13.
The past year saw a standout performance in Scotland, which posted revenues of £3.1m, an increase of 30% on the previous year.
The firm also pointed to its office opening in Northern Ireland in 2012 and Manchester in 2013, where it hired a 30-strong team from Irwin Mitchell, as factors that have helped to boost its revenues. ‘In both [offices] this is through a mixture of support for the firm’s existing clients and new client opportunities,’ the firm said in a statement today. ‘Both are also attracting new recruits and, from a standing start, now have around 50 people.’
These openings follows a launch in 2012 in Belfast and separately in Glasgow and Edinburgh, following the firm’s merger with Scottish firm Anderson Fyfe in the same year.
Growth has been spread across the firm’s sectors and groups, with financial services and commercial services for large corporates and public bodies seeing particularly strong growth. The firm is also seeing an uptick in work for real estate and litigation.
Managing partner David Pester (pictured) said: ‘We’re continuing to invest and grow. This year’s strong revenue result is, in part, a consequence of new offices and new people. However, it’s also driven by winning market share in focus areas for the firm like retail, leisure and energy & renewables.’
The firm has secured some high profile instructions in recent months, adding Boohoo.com, E.On, and Sainsbury’s to a client list that includes Barclays, BBC, Dyson, Merlin Entertainments, Punch Taverns, RBS and WH Smith.
The results follow the announcement by Osborne Clarke yesterday (12 May) that it’s global revenue is up by 26% to €169m, with UK revenue up by 16%.
caroline.hill@legalease.co.uk