Bond Pearce

Turnover (£m): 47
Average PEP: 220
Equity spread (£k): 145-307
Profit margin (%): 15
RPL (£k): 168

Bond Pearce reported a slight increase in turnover last year, from £46m to £47m. Managing partner Victor Tettmar said the firm had worked hard on controlling its overheads. Despite this, net profit dipped from £7.5m to £7.1m. The biggest theme of the year was the changing expectations of clients, said Tettmar - in other words, clients expecting more for less.

The bottom of the firm’s equity moved downwards, from £158,000 to £145,000, while the top rose fractionally, from £306,000 to £307,000. Bond Pearce’s equity partner headcount remained static last year at 32, but average profit per equity partner dropped from £235,000 to £220,000.

Litigation continued to be the big earner, accounting for £20.2m of turnover. Around 60 per cent of this figure was commercial ­litigation. Corporate saw a slight increase, contributing £13.1m compared with £12m in 2009-10. Tettmar said the firm is also ­seeing growth in the energy sector.

A number of Bond Pearce’s key clients, such as Royal Mail and Sainsbury’s, ­appointed new panels last year, with the firm successfully retained in every instance.

With regard to hires, partner Michael Spence came on board from ­Eversheds to strengthen the firm’s Scottish real estate ­activities, while former oil company legal consultant Stuart Carter and ex-Mayer Brown associate Emily Monastiriotis joined to build the energy and commercial insurance practices respectively.