Farrer & Co

Turnover (£m): 46.6
Average PEP: 403
Equity spread (£k): 225-550
Profit margin (%): 23
RPL (£k): 260

Revenue was up by 9.6 per cent, from £42.6m to £46.6m. Net profit also rose, by 6.9 per cent, from £10.1m to £10.8m. Much of this growth was driven by ­Farrers’ larger fee-earner base, up from 176 to 209. Its partnership grew from 66 to 74, with hires including those of real estate partners Robin Holmes and Clive Lovatt from ­Travers Smith and Addleshaw ­Goddard ­respectively.

However, the firm was guilty of a bizarre fudge when it replaced former senior ­partner James Furber (who stepped down a year early) with not one, but two ­individuals, Jim Edmonson and Richard Parry, apparantly in a bid to appease ­different constituencies within the firm.

Farrers’ equity partner base is roughly a third of its partnership, with the firm adding three equity partners last year to reach 25. This had an impact on average profit per equity partner (PEP), which dropped to £403,000 from £442,000 a year earlier.

The reduction is indicative of a long-term trend at Farrers. Since 2007-08 the firm has grown its equity partnership base from 19 to 25, while PEP has fallen from an all-time high of £469,000 in 2007-08.