Bristows suffers dip in financials as office move takes its toll

REVENUE at IP boutique Bristows has taken a downward turn, falling by £100,000 to £20m, in a year of massive upheaval for the firm.

In March five litigation partners quit to set up rival IP boutique Powell Gilbert, but co-managing partner Paul Walsh denied that this was a reason for the static figures.

He said: “Litigation is kind of counter-cyclical and tends to do better when there is no M&A boom on. It’s likely that over the course of the next one to three years our litigationbased practices will see more fee income.”

Average profit per equity partner (PEP) fell by just over 1 per cent, dropping to £243,000 from £263,000.

Bristows put the drop in PEP down to the firm’s imminent move to new offices in Blackfriars.

Walsh said: “Operating costs have gone up. After 25 years we’re moving to a new building and I’m appalled at the amount of costs.

“It’s a brand-new building. Some costs we can amortise and some we can’t. It’s like starting again.”