Bredin Prat revenue soars to €85m

Leading French independent firm Bredin Prat has enjoyed one of its best ever years, seeing turnover leap more than 40 per cent to hit e85m (£64m).

Bredin Prat - Slaughter and May's best friend in France - added e25m (£18.8m) to its 2006 revenue of e60m (£46m) in a year that saw the firm top the Mergermarket tables for corporate transactions in France.

Bredin Prat also confirmed its status as one of the most profitable firms in Europe, maintaining a profit margin of 60 per cent.

Bredin Prat made a total profit of around e51m (£38.27m). The firm's all-equity partnership of 35 members split the pot to give an average profit per equity partner (PEP) of e1.45m (£1.1m).

The firm's managing partner Didier Martin told The Lawyer that a number of mega-deals had helped push Bredin Prat through the e80m (£60.3m) barrier for the first time.

Bredin Prat advised Euronext on its e7.8bn (£5.9bn) tie-up with the New York Stock Exchange. Martin added that the challenge will be to keep Bredin Prat's collegiate atmosphere as the firm grows.

Last year also saw the firm make a rare lateral hire, boosting its finance group with partner Raphaële Courtier from the Paris office of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Meanwhile, Bredin Prat promoted M&A specialists Olivier Rogivue and Olivier Saba to partner.

Bredin Prat's turnover has almost doubled in two years. In 2005 the firm made e45m (£34m).