Fee income up 12% at Addleshaws
LAW firm Addleshaw Goddard has announced a 12% hike in fee income for the year to the end of April, and says its profit per equity partner has risen sharply too.
Turnover at the firm which has its UK offices in Manchester, Leeds and London, and a small but growing international presence with offices in Doha, Dubai, Hong Kong, Muscat and Singapore was £192.5m.
Although profit figures were not disclosed, the firm said it expects PEP to increase “in excess” of the 12% hike in fee income. It ended the year with no net debt.
Managing partner John Joyce, said: “We are really pleased with the progress we have seen this year. Income is at the highest level since 2007/08, profitability has increased at a greater rate than turnover and we have ended the year in a positive cash position for the first time since 2009.
“That material improvement in our performance will also allow us to pay significant bonuses to our higher performers for the first time for a number of years.”
Joyce added: “We saw increased performance across the vast majority of our service lines but most notably in Corporate, in our Commercial Group and Litigation, and we saw some exceptional wins, higher value assignments and enhanced panel positions. The combination of those things leaves us really encouraged about our prospects for continued growth.”
The firm’s Manchester office is one of its largest, with 397 employees out of a global total of 1,317.
Reflecting the strong national picture, the firm’s Manchester corporate team advised on deals worth over totalling over £1.75bn in the first three months of this year.
Its highlights include: advising Zeus Capital on its role as Nomad and joint broker to Haversham Holdings on its £1.17bn purchase of British Car Auctions; Peel on its joint venture with Legal and General at MediaCityUK and also on the reduction to 39% of its shareholding in Pinewood Group plc; acting for private equity firm LivingBridge on its investment in Cheshire-based Sykes Cottages at a £50m valuation and Bruntwood on its acquisition of the former BBC site.
