Law firm hails record results

LAW firm Freeths, which has offices in Leeds and Sheffield, has announced a record set of results with double-digit growth taking its turnover up 12% to £55.8m for 2014-15.
 
It is intending to continue the growth strategy and is actively identifying new merger opportunities.

The firm said the strong growth had been supported by a recruitment drive, with 50 new staff joining the firm over the past year. Freeths’ workforce reached 679 across an 11-strong national office network that all experienced strong growth.

The firm said its success with commercial and private clients had been driven by a mix of organic growth and strategic mergers. The final, formal merger with Henmans in Oxford was completed in the past year with the office now contributing more than 15% of the firm’s turnover.

The target for the firm now is to double its turnover to £100m by 2020, aided by new mergers.
 
Freeths chief executive Peter Smith said: “It’s an excellent result, ahead of our target, and the fruit of a lot of hard work to identify strategic opportunities, focus on business efficiency and deliver great customer service. Our office network around the country means we know our local markets, while our size and the expertise of our teams in various sectors means we can pull together big national deals.”
 
Freeths recently secured a property deal worth £84m with the acquisition of more than 50 business centre properties across the UK. The firm advised its client Bridges Ventures on all the commercial and property aspects of a complex deal involving more than 2,000 business tenants. A team of more than 20 solicitors from five Freeths’ offices advised on the acquisition negotiations, undertook due diligence on the properties, and advised on the related management agreement.
 
Staff at the firm have been rewarded for their performance with a bonus payment of 5% of salary.