Ashurst

UK 200 RESULTS 2010

As with many of its peers jostling for position below

the magic circle, Ashurst has managed to steady its ship to some degree after recording

a big fall in profit during 2008-09. But it was still far from plain sailing in 2009-10.

Average profit per equity partner nudged up to £689,000 from last year’s £673,000, which is still some way short of the £1.04m recorded in 2007-08. Total revenue was down slightly, from £301m to £293m.

The lack of a significant bounce should not come as too much of a surprise given that the economic downturn is still affecting Ashurst’s major sweet spots of mainstream corporate and acquisition finance work. Also, while cutting around 6 per cent from its total staff numbers, the firm avoided any major redundancy programme last year.

Total partner headcount actually increased from 221 to 225, but those figures do not tell the full story of a year that saw a number of comings and goings from the partnership.

Kirkland & Ellis’s June 2010 raid for private equity duo David Arnold and Gavin Gordon certainly shook the firm, coming on the back of a number of other partner departures throughout 2009-10. Meanwhile, restructuring partners Dan Hamilton and Lee Doyle were recruited from White & Case and RBS respectively, while Centrica general counsel Peter Roberts joined the energy practice.

Some commentators believe that the Ashurst partnership revolving door has changed the culture of the firm, suggestions that managing partner Simon Bromwich denies vigorously.

The firm’s management is understood to believe that the changes, with the notable exception of the Arnold and Gordon departures, have actively improved the quality of the partnership.

Ashurst’s performance was bolstered by a strong showing from some of its overseas offices, with non-UK revenue up from 33 per cent last year to 37 per cent in 2009-10. But while offices in France, Spain and Sweden performed well, there was trouble in Italy, when four partners, including office managing partner Riccardo Agnostinelli, quit the firm last August.

UK 200 RESULTS 2009

Ashurst, a former darling of the Silver Circle, suffered a 35 per cent drop in average profit per equity partner (PEP) during the past financial year. Ashurst partners had to hunker down for a decline from £1.04m to £673,000 during 2008-09.

The equity spread also fell, ranging from £355,000 to £930,000 last year in contrast with £560,000 to £1.46m the previous year. Global revenue at firm dropped by 7 per cent from £323m down to £301m.

With 33 per cent of the firm’s business based outside of the UK, Ashurst managing partner Simon Bromwich claimed the firm did not benefit from currency exchange rates as much as some of its rivals. He added the challenging market conditions and a high level of partner investment since December 2008 had significantly affected the firm’s PEP figure.

In particular, while structured finance has struggled, Ashurst has kept faith with this area, hiring an 11-partner team from legacy US boutique McKee Nelson.

But hires such as this cannot disguise the fact that Ashurst’s core practice groups have been at the centre of the downturn.

Corporate revenue suffered a 40 per cent drop from £100.3m during the 2007-08 financial year down to around £60m last year. The team missed its budget by 20 per cent with the drop in private equity and big-ticket corporate work.

That said, corporate still contributed the most to overall revenue at 29 per cent followed closely by finance which contributed 21 per cent.

Ashurst has so far avoided making widespread redundancies since the downturn, culling just 15 support staff and a total of eight CHECK from its partnership.

While the silver circle firm marginally reduced the number of equity partners last year total number of partners increased from 197 to 221.

Ashurst’s total number of lawyers increased by almost 3 per cent from 796 during the 2007-08 financial year up to 817 during the last financial year.