Traditionally, like the proverbial London transit, you wait ages for one set of Magic Circle results and then they start coming in like buses. Hot on the heels of Allen & Overy (A&O)’s financial results, City peer Linklaters has just unveiled its 2019/20 numbers, with a similarly resilient showing in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Linklaters today (16 July) confirmed that its revenues for the period to the end of April were £1.64bn, up a marginal 0.7% on the previous year. Pre-tax profit stood at £726.9m, with profit per equity partner ebbing 5.1% down at £1.612m.
In an issued statement, managing partner Gideon Moore (pictured) noted: ‘Covid-19 came at the tail end of what was a strong year for us. Notwithstanding the change in circumstances arising as a result of Covid-19, we have been able to continue to support our people and our clients. Our long-term strategy remains unchanged: investing in our globally diverse talent base and growing our practices sustainably to best serve our clients.’
The results unsurprisingly show some softening against its 2018/19 year, when Linklaters drove revenues up 7%. While revenue growth is marginally slower than at A&O, the result will still be seen as more than respectable for Silk Street given the sustained economic slump facing many sectors in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Leading law firms have so far proven remarkably robust in the face of the crisis with many plc and sponsor clients still turning to them for profitable work during the pandemic. Even with managing partners gearing up for a tougher year ahead, the early results from these two City leaders will steady some nerves in the profession.
For more, see coverage of Allen & Overy’s results in our recent article, ‘A&O shrugs off lockdown to hike revenues 4% to £1.69bn in first post-pandemic results from UK law elite’