Revenue at UK top 40 firm Stephenson Harwood rose by 8% to £121m in the 12 months to 30 April 2014, marking the firm’s sixth successive year of growth, coupled with an 19% increase in its profit per equity partner (PEP).
Boosted by the continuation of The Fiona Trust litigation, an eight-year shipping fraud trial between head of international arbitration Louis Flannery’s Russian client Dmitry Skarga and state-owned Sovcomflot, and a strong year in the infrastructure sector, the firm’s revenue was up by £8.3 million.
While successive revenue growth has been achieved even in the immediate aftermath of the recession, the same cannot be said for the firm’s PEP, which last year dropped by 10% to £453,000. The rise of 19% takes PEP up to £537,000 and back to levels seen by the firm in its 2011-12 financial year.
Key deals during the year included partner Tammy Samuel’s advisory role on Northern Rail’s franchise agreement and corporate partner Andrew Edge lead role on accountancy firm Baker Tilly’s sale of its private client financial management business.
The 120-partner firm has also undertaken international expansion in Seoul, and in March received formal approval to combine with Singapore firm Virtus Law from the local Attorney General’s Chambers.
Sharon White (pictured), chief executive of Stephenson Harwood, said: ‘We have seen particularly strong growth in our transactional practices – corporate, finance and real estate – but the market remains very competitive. Our performance this year reflects the importance of the investments we have made in developing the firm during the past few years and we will continue to identify opportunities to grow and strengthen our business.’
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk