Nabarro
Most metrics point to a year for Nabarro that can simply be described as ‘all right, but nothing special’.
Turnover (£m): 112.6
Average PEP: 318
Equity spread (£k): 165-505
Profit margin (%): 25
RPL (£k): 279
Vision – 
Execution–
Governance – 
Nabarro saw a marginal decrease in turnover in the past year, with the figure dropping from £113.8m in 2009-10 to £112.6m. Average profit per equity partner also went down slightly, from £320,000 to £318,000, with the profit margin sliding from 27 to 25 per cent. Lockup increased slightly, from 93 to 96 days.
Even its number of AIM-listed clients remained boringly stable in the high twenties, a distance off the 30-plus level of previous years.
Despite attempts by the traditionally real estate-focused firm to beef up its offering in other areas, corporate turnover dropped from 23 per cent of overall revenue to 22 per cent, and given that the group makes up nearly 29 per cent of the firm by partner numbers, this hardly points to a fantastic business.
Even real estate is considered over-resourced, with partners understood to be feeling squeezed as departures emerge on the horizon in response to the lack of work to go around the people-heavy property team. It remains the biggest group by revenue, turning over £34.9m in 2010-11, or 31 per cent of the business, up from £33m in 2009-10.
Senior partner Simon Johnston’s robust management style makes partnership meetings an event worth writing home about. Andrew Inkester, who took over as managing partner from dispute resolution partner Nicky Paradise in August, is seen as a forceful counterbalance to Johnston and a well-liked replacement for the long-serving and immensely popular Paradise.
