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Reynolds Porter Chamberlain

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain

UK 200 RESULTS 2010

Position:
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):

51
SAME

60
327
327.42
130-580
20.3
34
243.9
301.5
967.7
967.7
246
199
62
62
13
13
425
2.21

Traditionally Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has been perceived as an insurance firm, but the reality is that it has a much broader client base, as reflected by the top-level hires it has made over the past 18 months.

At the 2009-10 year-end RPC posted a total turnover of £60m, down marginally from £60.1m the previous year. The firm’s all-equity partnership, however, benefited from the growth in net profit, up from £20.1m to £20.3m. This meant average profit per equity partner stood at £327,000 compared with £324,000 the previous year.

The equity spread moved upwards at the top slightly, from £568,000 to £580,000, while the bottom remained static at £130,000.

This gradual but upward trend is indicative of the longer-term picture for RPC, which has grown steadily over the past five years, while avoiding many of the dangers of the recession.

The firm has gradually evolved its strategy to pull in higher-quality work, which adds value to its bottom line. This has meant some inward investment to attract strategic hires, which in the past financial year included Tom Hibbert from Reed Smith to lead the financial disputes team and Jonathan Levy from Berwin Leighton Paisner to lead the tax litigation team.

RPC’s practice remains dominated by contentious work, with 70 per cent of overall turnover, or £42m, coming from litigation.

UK 200 RESULTS 2009

Position:
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):

51
SAME

60.1
324
324.2
130 - 568
20.1
33
261
307
969
969
230
196
62
62
15
15
425
2.16

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain has weathered the recession well, increasing turnover, maintaining a 33 per cent profit margin and growing average profit per equity partner by almost 8 per cent.

The firm, which has an all-equity partnership, upped turnover by 3.8 per cent to £60.1m from £57.9m a year earlier. Since the 20004-05 year end the firm has increased turnover by 16 per cent from £51.8m.

Net profit meanwhile has remained steady, rising to £20.1m at the end of the financial year from £19.2m.

For the past two years RPC has maintained a profit margin of 33 per cent, well above its peers Beachcroft, which has a 21 per cent profit margin, and Kennedys, also 21 per cent.

In July 2008, RPC sold the lease on its Tiverton office, which it had acquired in 2003 office, to Kennedys. Managing partner Jonathan Watmough said the move would better enable the firm to concentrate on work coming out of the London insurance market.

It is a strategy which has paid off with the firm’s 62 equity partners pulling in revenues of £969,000 each, an increase of 5.5 per cent on the 2007-08 year end.