Blake Lapthorn in consultation to lay off 43 staff

Blake Lapthorn in consultation to lay off 43 staff" />Blake ;Lapthorn ;has announced a redundancy consultation ;with ;43 ­members of staff across both fee-earning and non-fee-earning roles.

Senior partner Jonathan Lloyd-Jones ;said ;the ­consultation would affect “a number of areas, ranging from business support through to our legal teams”.

The ;firm ;currently employs 895 staff, of whom 421 are fee-earners. It reported an average profit per equity partner (PEP) of £204,000 this year, only slightly up on last year’s £202,000, while the equity spread fell from a top end of £221,000 in 2006-07 to £210,000 this year.

In 2006 the South East firm merged with Tarlo Lyons, which saw its total turnover grow from £33.3m to £50.7m. This was part of an acquisitive expansion plan that began with it ­taking on an Oxford base by merging with Linnells in 2003.

Despite now having a full-service practice, its core market, which is focused on Hampshire, has been badly hit by the downturn in ­residential property work.

Local rivals have also made ;redundancies. Thomas Eggar, which acquired Blake Lapthorn’s Southampton office for £1.7m in July, made 15 redundant in the commercial real estate department last month (22 September). ASB Law let 38 go after ­consolidating its Brighton and Horsham offices with its bases in Crawley and Maidstone.

Blake Lapthorn recently invested in new offices ­outside Southampton in Chandler’s Ford, consolidating its Southampton and Fareham offices into a single site of 400 people.