Profits up at law firm Clarion
Leeds-based law firm Clarion has seen revenues rise from £10.4m in 2016 to £11.7m in its last financial year, an increase of 14%.
Pre-tax profits rose to £3.4m for the year to the end of May 2017, up from almost £3m the year before.
Clarion’s joint managing partner Roger Hutton told TheBusinessDesk.com: “I attribute Clarion’s success to our ability to attract top class lawyers who enable us to cost-effectively serve large corporates and who also use their skills to advise smaller owner managed businesses which are often overlooked by larger, national law firms. We have built a strong reputation based on our client focused ethos and commitment to adding value rather than simply serving legal needs and this has allowed us to establish a loyal client base as well as continuing to win new mandates.”
In its latest filing at Companies House, the firm said that in a competitive market, it continues to invest in its brand, people and systems.
“The main elements of this investment plan were put in place previously and along with a continues, client centred approach and financial control, Clarion has been able to post record levels of activity and profitability.
“Clarion believes that these investments will continue to add value in the future. Clarion, through this process, has been able to enhance profitability which means it is well placed to deal with both sector and macro-economic challenges.”
Looking ahead, Clarion said it has made a strong start to the current financial year, with activity and profitability “significantly ahead” of last year and budget, which it says alongside “strict control of lock-up levels” provides a sound base to continue to pursue the growth strategy of the business.
The 21-partner firm now employs 155 staff, and it anticipates a further 10 hires in the coming months.
“Despite concerns about the potential for the UK economy slowing in the last quarter, it has actually carried on growing which reflects our experience that there has been no sign of any let-up in the market here. Having enjoyed record revenues in the last two quarters, we expect demand from our clients to continue in the year ahead,” added Hutton.
“Over the last 11 years we’ve placed great emphasis on creating the right culture. Ensuring that we have highly engaged and motivated people is what sets us apart and enables us to consistently deliver for our clients. Going forward, the focus on maintaining and recruiting talented people will remain a cornerstone of our ethos.
“Last year, we again saw double digit growth in staff numbers, as well as investing in developing our home-grown talent with two born and raised Clarion lawyers, Marie Pugh and Lynsey Harrison, being promoted to partner and heading up their own practice areas in banking and contentious private client respectively.”
Hutton added: “As a firm, we have established a strong brand and have proved able to win business from large corporates based on quality of service and value. As well as having an impressive roster of national and international clients, we have also built up a reputation for our specialist work with owner managed businesses, offering them the same highly able lawyers as well as a developing a deep understanding of their business and providing more holistic advice.
“Our strong private client offering means that we are also able to look after the personal legal needs of business owners, providing a complete service from people they know and trust.”
Clarion reported healthy growth across all practice areas with the property, dispute resolution and corporate practices performing particularly well.
Hutton said: “Overall, we see a continued appetite from our clients to do business and get deals done and we anticipate that this will continue. We are recruiting on an ongoing basis to attract the best available talent, and we believe that Yorkshire has some great opportunities ahead, particularly given the high levels of interest from foreign investors. We’re fortunate to live in a region which has so much to offer.”
