Law firm top £5m turnover milestone
Liverpool law firm MSB Solicitors has reported its strongest financial results to date for the financial year ending 28 February 2017.
Turnover increased by 16% on the same period last year to exceed £5m for the first time in the firm’s history and net profit leapt by more than 50%.
The firm has undertaken a number of innovative measures to ensure steady growth in recent years. Capping overheads, utilising existing office space at its south Liverpool sites and responsible staff expansion have all contributed to the increase, it says.
At the beginning of the year, MSB relocated its city centre office to 4 St Paul’s Square and were able to finance the move wholly from money that would otherwise have been spent on dilapidations under the previous lease.
MSB was able to secure a four- year rent-free period under their new lease, a deal aided by Mark Worthington of Worthington Owen.
MSB also grew its team by almost a third in 2016 and has made a series of strategic and high level appointments this year. The firm now employs more than 100 staff and consultants across its three offices.
Key appointments include Philip Coburn in the firm’s commercial team and Brad Armstrong, who heads up their plot sales team.
Armstrong, who was appointed to partner in March, works alongside commercial property partner Neil Kelly, and together they have had a significant role in the firm’s financial performance.
The department has gone through a period of accelerated development in recent months having taken on major contracts in both Liverpool and Manchester, appointed three new solicitors and attracted several new clients since the turn of the year, including The Rise in Low Hill.
The Rise is a mixed-use development of residential and student accommodation units based on the edge of Liverpool’s emerging Knowledge Quarter.
Additionally, the firm has been involved in a number of key commercial and residential developments in Liverpool city centre, including 8 Water Street, Colonial Chambers and Reliance House – the value of those developments tops £30m and will comprise 300 separate apartments offering the best in city centre living. The firm have also undertaken projects in the MediaCityUK area of Salford.
Managing partner Paul Bibby said: “I’m hugely impressed with the performance of the entire team at MSB. Contribution to our latest results has been from across the board, with increased revenue in every team.
“The commercial property and plot sales team has performed particularly well and we can boast an impressive portfolio of developers, including X1, Ascot and Signature Living who are all prominent developers and having a significant impact on the changing landscape in Liverpool.”
