Cobbetts' fee income falls by 16 per cent

The firm said that it brought in fees of £48.5m for 2008-09, down from £58m for the previous year.

Profitability will also be down this year, although Cobbetts has yet to finalise the figures. Last year the firm posted an average profit per equity partner (PEP) figure of £300,000 and a profit margin of 14 per cent.

Several other north-west firms have already announced their results for 2008-09, with DWF and Weightmans both recording a rise in fee income or turnover for the period.

DWF generated fee income of £60.1m - a rise of nine per cent on the £55.3m it made in 2007-08 (2 March 2009), while Weightmans grew turnover by four per cent from £50m to a record £52m over the same period (11 May 2009).

Meanwhile, turnover at Halliwells has fallen by 4.6 per cent fall from £87m to £83m (11 May 2009).