Alex Novarese, Legal Business: It has been a record period for Asian activity into Europe. How do you see the general trends?
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, Hinduja Group: China is an issue, because the main difference between the Asian companies, European companies and Chinese companies is that Chinese companies are directly or indirectly state-owned. Continue reading “Cross-border M&A: Asian bidders usher in different mindset”
Georgina Stanley and Anna Cole-Bailey assess a highly competitive sector in flux
Tesco, Rolls-Royce, Unaoil, Greenergy – as companies face increasing scrutiny of their governance and anti-corruption procedures, the number of law firms striving to corner the lucrative white-collar/corporate crime market shows no sign of abating. Continue reading “Firms pile into fast-moving corporate crime sphere but is there enough work to keep all hands busy?”
Richard King (RK), managing partner, Stevens & Bolton: I’m in my third year as managing partner and speaking as a manager, rather than a litigator, the highlight is our ongoing evolution. There’s a real sense that we’ve never stood still, and yet, for all that we’ve evolved, the foundations have been there from the beginning. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Punching above weight”
As Legal Business was unpacking the 2018/19 financial results of the UK’s top 100 law firms, the Office for National Statistics reported that Britain’s economy had shrunk for the first time since 2012. The 0.2% fall in output in the second quarter of 2019 was the latest in a series of ominous signs for a nation that appears, at the time of writing, on course for a cliff-edge exit from the European Union amid a chaotic political landscape and falling currency.
As Legal Business went to press, a row was raging over government moves to prorogue Parliament in the run-up to the 31 October deadline to exit the EU, threatening constitutional wrangles and a no-deal Brexit. A nation famed for exporting democracy, its strong institutions and a stable business environment is looking more Banana Republic than Britannia resurgent by the day. Continue reading “LB100 Overview: Apocalypse soon?”
On paper, an 11% jump in average revenue to £135.5m for the second 25 looks like a great leap forward from last year’s 5% increase to £122.6m, and this rate of growth compares favourably to the top quartile’s 9% hike to £830.7m. But as usual the figure must be taken with a pinch of salt.
Tempering excitement that the group is outstripping the top 25, Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD)’s transatlantic merger has inflated revenue and catapulted it into the top tier, squeezing out last year’s top-25 entrant Fieldfisher. Swapping WBD for Fieldfisher means that around £140m is artificially added to the £3.39bn total revenue of the group. Without it, average turnover would be around £130m – a more muted 6% increase. Continue reading “LB100 Second 25: A brooding gloom in sunshine”
While the UK lurches through a Brexit drama entirely of its own making, mid-market and boutique London-based firms have focused on diversifying their services or using their unique offerings to differentiate themselves from the pack.
The combined turnover for the 18 City firms that sit in the second 50 of this year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) is £839.7m, an increase of 8%. Average revenue increased 15%, reaching £46.7m. But, inevitably, the top-line growth of the firms in this group is distorted by some sizeable merger activity. Two of those firms have seen large jumps in revenue and headcount: Gordon Dadds, which after acquiring a large chunk of Ince & Co in 2018 and following its initial public offering (IPO) in 2017 – has seen turnover jump 68% from £31.2m to £52.6m under its new Ince branding (see case study). Bircham Dyson Bell, which merged with Reading stalwart Pitmans in December 2018, saw turnover climb from £33.7m to £52m as a result – a spike of 54%. With that level of artificial top-line growth, profit levels are hard to sustain. A 4% growth in the number of equity partners across the group has contributed to average profit per equity partner (PEP) only moving up 3% from £416,000 to £427,000. Continue reading “LB100 Second 50 – City and Boutique: The adventurers and the settlers”
Smaller regional and national firms have gained ground on their London rivals in this year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) after years of the productivity gap widening in favour of the City. And, as some of the strongest performers from the 32 regional firms in the 51-100 bracket have shown, a big part of the shift has come from a growing trend of partnering up with law’s global elite to effectively provide northshoring outposts for blue-chip clients.
Following a muted period and just 1% growth last year, the group’s collective revenue rose a solid 7% to £1.36bn in 2018/19, for an average revenue of £42.4m. The productivity per capita at regional firms, traditionally weaker than London counterparts, also grew where City firms lagged this year, closing a gap that had been steadily widening. Revenue per lawyer climbed 9% to £197,000, compared to an almost flat £267,000 in London. Profit per lawyer stayed flat at £38,000, against £78,000 in the City, which was down 6%. Profit per equity partner (PEP), however, slid 5% to £339,000. Continue reading “LB100 Second 50 – Regional focus: Crawling on a razor”
