Cripps Harries Hall

Turnover dipped slightly in 2011–12 for Tunbridge Wells firm Cripps Harries Hall, falling from £18.7m to £18.3m.

Managing partner Jonathan Denny said the financial results reflected the general level of business activity in the UK and the fact that Cripps had been forced to try and fill the gap left by last year’s sell-off of one of its biggest clients, the government-owned Channel Tunnel Rail Link — also known as High Speed 1 (HS1). Cripps continues to act for HS1, although considerably less fee income was derived from the client last year compared to the previous two years, when activity was particularly high.

Property, which accounts for 40 per cent of the firm’s overall revenue, also proved to be a challenging market, although much of this was offset by an increase in corporate work — up by 24 per cent on the previous year due to a boost in M&A work.

Cripps is structured into three divisions — real estate, corporate and private client — but is broken down into 10 sectors covering the whole client base. Advertising, technology and media is one area the firm is targeting for growth in coming years.