Income up, profits down at Hill Dickinson

NORTH West law firm Hill Dickinson has reported a 12% hike in income to £82m, but says that profits per equity partner have fallen 6%.

The commercial firm, which has offices in Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, London, Singapore and Greece, reported growth in all areas except commercial property and corporate – which have both been hard hit by the downturn.

Managing partner, Peter Jackson said:: “In what has undoubtedly been a year of difficult economic trading conditions for many businesses, we are encouraged by our continued growth across most practice areas, some of which have seen record results.”

He described the fall in profits per equity partner to £294,000 as a “realistic outcome” given the recession and the firm’s continued programme of investment , which included the launch of the Singapore office.

The Liverpool office reported a healthy growth of approximately 11% from £38.4m to £42.4m, while the Manchester office was joint leading performer alongside the firm’s Greek office in Piraeus, with a rise in fee income of 22.5% to £14.3m.

Best performing department was employment, which saw fee income rise 39%.

Other areas of growth included insurance , up 16%, professional risk, up 13% and healthcare +11%.

Mr Jackson, pictured, added: “Against the difficult economic climate in the past 12 months, we have continued to reinvest in the firm and to focus unswervingly on client satisfaction, which is of utmost importance in times like these.

“Commitment to client service will continue to form the cornerstone of our business strategy.”