Dentons posts 22 per cent PEP increase as turnover nudges down

The firm has reported a PEP of £360,000, a significant jump on last year’s figure of £300,000, but still 23 per cent below the figure of £470,000 achieved in 2007-08, which was its best-ever year for PEP.

At the same time the proportion of equity partners grew marginally, with 87 out of a total partner headcount 173 holding an equity share compared with 86 out of 181 the previous year.

Dentons reported a total profit figure of £31.4m, reflecting a profit margin of 19 per cent on a total turnover of £167.5m. Last year the firm’s profit margin was 15 per cent on total turnover of £169.8m.

The firm’s Middle East and CIS offices continued to be significant contributors to overall revenues, bringing in a total of 31 per cent of income this year. The Middle East, where the firm has offices in all of the Gulf Cooperation Council jurisdictions and Egypt, as well as associate offices in Libya and Jordan, increased by 11 per cent.

Chief executive Howard Morris said: “I’m proud of the firm’s efforts over the past financial year, and especially that our lawyers managed to increase their productivity and hit last year’s total revenue, despite a reduction in their overall number.

“The firm’s in good shape for the future and we expect to benefit from our strategic strengths in selected emerging markets and sectors experiencing growth in these conditions, such as energy, TMT and financial institutions,” he added.

The firm said that revenue per partner stood at £970,000 at the end of the 2009-10 financial year.