BLP sees PEP rocket 56 per cent to £712,000

Turnover for the 2010-11 financial year stood at £229m, up from £191m in 2009-10.

Meanwhile, the firm has seen average profit per equity partner (PEP) rise by 56 per cent, up from £455,000 to £712,000.

Despite the large rise in PEP the firm has seen only a small rise in profit margin. Last year net profit stood at £41.4m, representing a profit margin of 22 per cent.

For the 2010-11 financial year net profit stood at £64.1m, following a rise of 56 per cent. This translates to a profit margin of 28 per cent, a rise of just six percentage points. The profit figure is based on the assumption that the firm had an average of 90 equity partners during 2010-11.

The figures represent a turnaround from the previous financial year, when turnover rose six per cent, net profit by 22 per cent and PEP by nine per cent (14 June 2010).

Managing partner Neville Eisenberg said: “We saw growth in our three emerging market offices, Moscow, the Middle East and Singapore and all the departments in the London office grew across the board. Corporate and real estate both grew quite strongly; similarly litigation had an excellent year, as did finance and tax.”

Eisenberg declined to comment on the firm’s budget for next year, but added: “The market’s very competitive and still quite uncertain, bit I’m confident about our pipeline of work.”

BLP has also announced results of its fee-earner salary review, which became effective on 1 May. The firm has a system of broad pay bands, having discarded the post-qualification experiencelockstep model some years ago, but on average salaries rose 7 per cent for associates. In addition to this, associates will be paid a performance-based bonus, the details of which are yet to be finalised.

The Lawyer’s main Twitter account is twitter.com/thelawyermag The Lawyer twitterati now include twitter.com/lawyercatrin twitter.com/TheLawyerKaty, twitter.com/LawyermagEurope, twitter.com/TheLawyerJames, twitter.com/TheLawyerMatt, twitter.com/lawyer2bmag, twitter.com/husnarab