Dickson Minto

Corporate boutique Dickson Minto had a solid year in 2011–12 considering the prevailing economic conditions, with turnover nudging up by 5 per cent, from £34.7m to £36.4m.

The results are surprising given the ongoing strife in the private equity world, a mainstay of the firm. That said, the signs are that Dickson Minto’s 2012-13 performance is likely to be far more muted, with the general deals pipeline all but dry.

Dickson Minto remains the most profitable of the firms with Scottish roots, although the fact that half its practice is based in the City makes any kind of comparison difficult. In the past financial year its average profit per equity partner (PEP) figure stood at £1.46m, up from £1.39m the previous year. This gave it a net profit figure of £14.9m and a profit margin of 41 per cent.

The firm’s strategic alliance with Willkie Farr & Gallagher continues, despite the fact that the US firm has begun ramping up its capabilities in the UK. In May 2011 Willkie hired its first English law partner, taking anti-bribery practitioner Peter Burrell from Herbert Smith. Dickson Minto maintains that the US firm’s move does not create a conflict as the alliance is non-exclusive and the two firms work more closely together in Europe, and France in particular, than in the UK.