NRF unveils rise in bank loans to £55m but drop in net debt as South African partner appointed as global chair

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Norton Rose’s last pre-Fulbright & Jaworski merger limited liability partnership accounts reveal that the top 10 LB100 firm’s bank loans rose from £47m to £55m during 2013, with the amount repayable within one year up from £3.3m to £16m, although its net debt has been cut by over two thirds.

The firm, which this week named South African chairman Sbu Gule as its new global chairman, was in 2013 due to repay £34m of bank loans in between two and five years, up on a figure of £4,830 in 2012. Continue reading “NRF unveils rise in bank loans to £55m but drop in net debt as South African partner appointed as global chair”

LLP latest: Speechly points to owed client fees for fall in profits as Ashurst and Hill Dicks also post profit drop

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Private-client focused Speechly Bircham has become one of the latest LB100 firm to post its limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts at Companies House, blaming its near-double digit drop in profits on fees due from one client despite overall cash collection having improved.

The top 60 firm, which revealed a broadly flat revenue, down 0.9% to £57m from £57.6m for the 2012/13 financial year, saw a 9% pre-tax profit slide to £18.4m from £20.1m. Continue reading “LLP latest: Speechly points to owed client fees for fall in profits as Ashurst and Hill Dicks also post profit drop”

LLP latest: DLA Piper’s net debt down 32% as RPC posts 21% increase in fee income

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DLA Piper International’s net debt decreased by 32% while cash in the bank dropped almost 15% according to its most recent limited liability partnership (LLP) filed at Companies House.

Net debt was down from £47.5m at the end of 2011/12 to £32.4m at the end of last financial year, with the 4036-lawyer firm’s cash position also down from £35m to £29.9m.

Turnover at DLA Piper International – which includes all the firm’s activities outside the US including its share of joint ventures – increased from £788m in 2011/12 to £800.4m in the last financial period, while profit available for discretionary allocation among members dropped almost 3% from £269m to £261.5m during that period. Continue reading “LLP latest: DLA Piper’s net debt down 32% as RPC posts 21% increase in fee income”

LLP latest: SJ Berwin, Squire Sanders and Irwin Mitchell file results

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The last LLP filings of SJ Berwin in the financial year before its merger with King & Wood Mallesons reveal that the firm’s revenue in 2012/13 increased by 1.7% to £182.9m compared to the previous financial year which stood at £179.9m. Profits available to be shared among members dropped by 6% to £46.3m from £49.1m.

The firm released an unaudited turnover of £184.6m during the financial reporting season last summer, which was an increase of 2% from its previous reported revenue. Continue reading “LLP latest: SJ Berwin, Squire Sanders and Irwin Mitchell file results”

LLP latest: Taylor Wessing posts 4% increase in UK fee income

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Taylor Wessing has become the latest LB100 firm to post its limited liability partnership accounts via Companies House, which show its UK fee income increased by 4% to £102m. This compares to total revenues of international business reported as £228m for the 2012/13 financial year.

UK members’ profit for the financial year fell slightly to £29.4m from £30.3m, while operating profit also dropped marginally at £38.2m compared to £38.9m in 2011/12.

Continue reading “LLP latest: Taylor Wessing posts 4% increase in UK fee income”

LLP latest: Hogan Lovells stands out for lack of debt as accounts show 5.4% increase in profit before tax

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Transatlantic LB100 firm Hogan Lovells has become the latest to release its LLP accounts for the 2012/13 financial year, posting a 5.4% profit-before-tax increase from £197m to £208m and an enviable lack of debt in comparison with a number of recent filings among some of its competitors.

Revenue decreased 1.6% from £591m to £581m, which the firm attributed to the weakening of the euro against Sterling during the relevant period.

Operating expenses at the 2,527-lawyer firm decreased by 14% from £145m to £124m, which the firm said reflects higher expenses in 2011/12 due to the one-off costs associated with its surplus office space. Continue reading “LLP latest: Hogan Lovells stands out for lack of debt as accounts show 5.4% increase in profit before tax”

LLP latest – Bird & Bird and Eversheds pay cost of expansion and restructuring

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The cost of Bird & Bird’s strategic investment in 2012/13 became apparent today (27 January) with the filing of its limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts, which show that its overdraft facility rose 55% to €21m from €13.6m in 2011/12, while net debt was up 20% from €22.6m to €27.1m during that period.

Turnover at the 966-lawyer firm was up 8% to €293,248 from €270,745 the previous year, while profit was down 7% from nearly €65m in 2012 to €60.2m this year. Continue reading “LLP latest – Bird & Bird and Eversheds pay cost of expansion and restructuring”

LLP latest – Herbert Smith Freehills sees its overdraft rise by 140% as borrowing totals £111m

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Significantly increased debt has been a recurring theme for many of the latest limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts filed at Companies House and Herbert Smith Freehills is no exception, with its overdraft up over 140% from £26m to £62.7m and total bank borrowing up by 28% to £110.7m.

In the first accounts filed since Herbert Smith’s June 2012 merger with Australia’s Freehills, the global LLP accounts reveal that revenue is slightly down on last summer’s unaudited figure of £471.2m, standing at £469m. The accounts, which do not include the Australian side of the business, further show a LLP cash position of £29m. Continue reading “LLP latest – Herbert Smith Freehills sees its overdraft rise by 140% as borrowing totals £111m”

LLP Latest – Freshfields sees drop in equity partners and highest paid earner as Clydes grows across the board

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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has become the second Magic Circle firm to release its 2012/13 limited liability partnership (LLP) filings with Companies House, revealing a drop of 5% in average equity partner numbers and a reduction in the pay packet of its highest paid member.

The LLP, which saw its 2012/13 profits fall to £312.3m from £329.1m in the previous year, while overall revenues increased by 4% to £1.23bn, saw the average number of members fall from 350 to 332. Continue reading “LLP Latest – Freshfields sees drop in equity partners and highest paid earner as Clydes grows across the board”

LLP filings 2012/13 – DAC Beachcroft, Dentons, Olswang and Ince & Co reveal numbers

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DAC Beachcroft, Dentons, Olswang and Ince & Co have joined the ranks of leading UK law firms to have filed their limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts on Companies House, with the former three all seeing an increase in their bank debt.

Dentons UKMEA LLP saw its bank loans increase by around £3m in the 2012/13 year, while profit was down 10% to £28.3m, which the firm attributed to increased marketing and administration costs stemming from its tripartite merger with Salans and Fraser Milner Casgrain.

Revenue at the top-10 firm dropped 1.5% from £144.8m to £142.8m. Continue reading “LLP filings 2012/13 – DAC Beachcroft, Dentons, Olswang and Ince & Co reveal numbers”