Pinsent Masons
UK 200 RESULTS 2010
Movement since 2009
Turnover (£M):
Profit per equity partner (£K):
Earnings per partner (£K):
Equity spread (£K):
Net profit (£M):
Profit margin (%):
Revenue per fee-earner (£K):
Revenue per lawyer (£K):
Revenue per partner (£K):
Revenue per equity partner (£K):
Total number of fee-earners:
Total number of qualified lawyers:
Total number of partners:
Total number of equity partners:
Total number of female partners:
Total number of female equity partners:
Total number of staff:
Leverage ratio (fee-earners per equity partner):
SAME
206
410
256.36
240-605
46
22
187.4
223.4
749.1
1,823.0
1,099
922
275
113
61
12
1,702
7.16
Pinsent Masons increased its profit margin from 17 to 22 per cent and its average profit per equity partner by 32 per cent over the past financial year without substantially slashing either the total number of equity partners, which fell slightly from 116 to 113, or total staff, which shrank by 3 per cent on the previous year.
In fact, with 19 job losses at the beginning of the 2009-10 financial year, Pinsents made one of the smallest number of redundancies of any of the firms of its size. The rest of the minimal staff reduction came largely through natural wastage. Cost cutting was achieved partly through an extensive flexitime scheme, which was taken up by 204 members of staff and saved £2m, and putting the freeze on salaries and non-strategic recruitment.
The national firm is well-known for its public sector practice, scoring panel wins for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Birmingham City Council, and also leads in the education arena. It has also picked up new work for HSBC through its joint venture with Salans.
However, the lack of activity on AIM, where it is one of the market leaders, has hit the bottom line, while corporate and property were both down on the previous year. Total firmwide turnover fell by 4 per cent, from £215m to £206m.
Pinsents has a two-tier partnership. Fixed-share partners contribute capital, receive a salary and an additional two profit points each, which roughly accounts for between 10 and 15 per cent of their total remuneration. Equity partners enter the 10-rung modified lockstep on 20 points. Remuneration is reviewed every three years by a 10-member committee and partners can move down, as well as up, the lockstep. In addition, there is a partnership-wide bonus scheme, which accounts for 10 per cent of the total profit pool. The firm retains a waiting room arrangement, limiting the number of partners who can resign at any one time.
Last year the firm signed up to new London headquarters, with the investment starting in
2010-11. While it has managed to offload two of its London premises in City Point and Bunhill Row, it still has a four-year lease remaining on premises in Clerkenwell to deal with.
UK 200 RESULTS 2009
Movement since 2008
Turnover (£M):
Profit per equity partner (£K):
Earnings per partner (£K):
Equity spread (£K):
Net profit (£M):
Profit margin (%):
Revenue per fee-earner (£K):
Revenue per lawyer (£K):
Revenue per partner (£K):
Revenue per equity partner (£K):
Total number of fee-earners:
Total number of qualified lawyers:
Total number of partners:
Total number of equity partners:
Total number of female partners:
Total number of female equity partners:
Total number of staff:
Leverage ratio (fee-earners per equity partner):
SAME
215.0
310
208.5
170 - 450
36
17
193
225
760
1,853
1,115
957
283
116
57
10
1,760
7.25
Unlike fellow national firms such as Addleshaw Goddard, Eversheds, Hammonds and Wragge & Co, all of which witnessed drops in turnover, Pinsent Masons managed to grow revenue in the past financial year.
The coffers were boosted by a revenue base that is hedged both in terms of jurisdictions and practice areas, with a well-balanced spread across commercial property, construction, corporate, dispute resolution, IP/IT, outsourcing, public sector and projects.
On the sector side, the firm has a particularly good name for its universities practice, its lender-led project finance team and for commercial litigation, where it was one of the first firms to outsource legal work offshore.
However, despite some excellent deals, the profile of the firm is still overwhelmingly mid-market. And the revenue increase of 1 per cent will hardly leave Pinsents cracking open the champagne. Indeed, no sooner had Pinsents announced its results then managing partner David Ryan told the firm it would be launching a redundancy consultation.
Up until then Pinsents had avoided a major redundancy programme by making significant redeployments to its international offices. This included Dubai, where the firm de-merged from legacy firm Masons’ previous association with Galadari & Associates and launched a property practice. However, it has bulked up with mid- and lower-tier hires and as a result has yet to really make its mark in the difficult past six months.
The dip in the fortune of the Gulf market meant that profitability there and across the firm dropped significantly. Average profit per equity partner fell by 38 per cent to £310,000, with the highest paid partner receiving £450,000. Forty-one per cent of Pinsents' partners are part of the equity, remunerated on the basis of a modified lockstep system.
The firm made investments in new offices in Manchester, where it has consolidated its two offices under one roof, and a larger office in Edinburgh.
These investments meant that the firm ruled out a merger agreement with Salans, opting instead to form a close referral relationship.
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