RPC news, updates and analysis | Page 1 of 9

RPC has posted mixed 2021/22 financial results, today (20 July) unveiling a 10% increase in revenue across its London, Bristol, Singapore and Hong Kong offices to £149.4m, albeit with a decline in profits..

Though the revenue figures are impressive, the firm was not able to maintain the level of growth seen in 2021, during which revenue jumped a striking 24% to reach £136m. Overall, revenue has spiked by 36% since 2020.

Managing partner James Miller (pictured) said: ‘After a successful FY21, we continued our strong revenue growth into the last financial year – growth that has come from investing in our people and investing in our infrastructure to better support our clients. That investment has carried us to a new record global revenue figure.

‘I am particularly pleased that we saw continued organic growth across all our strategic areas of the firm, including commercial & financial markets disputes, retail, insurance, technology & media, and regulatory.’

Profit per equity partner (PEP) stood at £571,000, a notable 10% drop from last year’s £634,000 figure, with net profit amounting to £43.3m. However the firm points to increased investment in IT, infrastructure and people, with new offices in Bristol being a key factor behind the profit dip.

The firm also highlighted the launch of ESG accelerator RPC Tectonic, 14 new partners (both lateral hires and promotions) and the addition of Peter Kwon as leader of the Korea desk as key developments in the last 12 months. It also recently appointed its first general counsel, as Reshma Raja was recruited from Dentons.

Looking forward, Miller remains optimistic: ‘We have an exciting future ahead of us and are committed now more than ever to delivering against our ambitious growth plans for the coming years. We will continue to develop and invest in good people – the recent promotion of 10 new partners and three of counsel being the first step, with more growth and investment announcements to come shortly.’

Charles.avery@legalease.co.uk

RPC is the latest LB100 firm to emerge from a ‘very challenging’ period to today (22 July) post exceptional financial results for 2020/21.

The firm’s total revenue for the financial year 2020/21 was £136m, an increase of 23% on FY20 (£110.1m) and 26% on 2018/19 (£108m).

Meanwhile, its net profit margin rose to 35%, up six percentage points on FY20 (29%), while profit per equity partner increased to £634,000, up a striking 50% on the £424,000 recorded last year.

These latest results are significant uptick in performance following a lean couple of years in which the firm overhauled both its business lines and its equity partnership structure.

Managing partner James Miller (pictured) said revenue growth was evident across all offices  (London, Bristol, Singapore and Hong Kong) in the last financial year: ‘These results reflect just how unbelievably hard our people have worked over this past year, and in especially challenging circumstances for many of us and our clients. The numbers speak to our high-performance culture, unwavering commitment to clients and the quality of our people. While the news is undoubtedly very positive for our business, they are set against a backdrop of many people – and many businesses – experiencing a very challenging year; both professionally and personally.’

Miller also noted that the firm has continued to invest in developing and hiring new talent. This includes a commercial disputes team in Singapore acquired from Bird & Bird, as well as the hire of Tom Purton, Travers Smith’s former head of commercial, IP & technology, at the beginning of the year. RPC has also made up a total of 28 new partners in the last 15 months.

mark.mcateer@legalbusiness.co.uk