Brabners Chaffe Street

North West firm Brabners Chaffe Street’s revenue in 2011–12 rose by 3 per cent from £30m to £31m, while its average profit per equity partner remained the same as the previous year at £250,000.

According to managing partner Mark Brandwood, all practice areas hit their targets, with the firm achieving a consistent performance across the board.

The £1m growth in the firm’s revenue was largely due to the merger with niche property practice Murphy Hodgkinson on 1 May 2011 in a deal that added 11 lawyers and staff along with Murphy Hodgkinson’s founding partner Karen Murphy.

Brabners made no redundancies during the 2011–12 financial year, although in a bid to respond to increasing client demand for lower fee rates, the firm did recruit more junior lawyers. Brabners will also reduce its trainee intake by 25 per cent over the coming years and take on more paralegals.

Brabners also plans to continue its expansion drive in the North West region. The firm’s most immediate aspiration, noted by Brandwood, is to find a merger or acquisition target in Manchester.

The firm hired construction partner Barry Goodall from DAC Beachcroft in January 2013.