Fladgate has announced a provisional 12 per cent rise in turnover to £19.1m at its half-year point, becoming the first UK firm to unveil its mid-point revenue.
The strong six-month performance follows a 14 per cent rise in turnover during the financial year 2014/15 in which Fladgate’s turnover hit more than £37m.
Fladgate is projecting a rise of at least 10 per cent to around £40m-plus for the full 2015/16 financial year.
Fladgate chairman Charles Wander said the double digit revenue increase was the result of the combination of continuing organic growth plus the performance of the firm’s recent lateral hires.
“We’ve been targeting a 10 per cent increase year on year and so we’re ahead of that,” said Wander. “We remain cautious, we don’t want to overstretch ourselves, and we remain very careful on cash management, so it’s great to have this performance that exceeds our cautious expectations.”
Wander added was hopeful of an even stronger performance in the second half of the year.
“We generally do see a better second half because people usually perform strongly towards the end of the financial year,” added Wander. “Also there is a good pipeline. We’re a month into second half and we’re already seeing evidence of that.”
Fladgate recently advised Greybull Capital on the purchase of 140 million Local high street convenience stores from WM Morrisons Supermarkets. The chain, now rebranded as My Local, also recently signed a £1bn five-year supply deal with Nisa. Fladgate partner Ian Brent, who joined from DAC Beachcroft two years ago where he was head of corporate, acted for My Local on the deals.
Other recent matters include Merlin Entertainments’ announced expansion in China in the shape of a partnership with China Media Capital to build a Legoland Discovery Centre in Shanghai.
Fladgate partner Barry Hembling, who joined from Fenwick Elliott earlier this year, led the deal for Merlin.
Hembling and Brent are just two of a string of recent hires at Fladgate. Today the firm has announced the appointment of employment partner Michael McCartney, who joins from Fasken Martineau, where he was head of the employment practice group.
Last month The Lawyer reported that Fasken Martineau had launched an internal consultation that could see it cut 70 positions from its London office as it “refocused” its operation in the UK.
Sources close to the firm said the 70 proposed exits could include as many as 20 partners.
Fladgate has also announced the appointment of immigration partner Sarah Gogan, who joins from Mishcon de Reya, where she was an associate. She previously ran her own niche immigration firm Fransman Solicitor.
Fladgate has made a number of notable hires in recent months, including employment partner Taj Rehal from Howard Kennedy; Memery Crystal’s head of dispute resolution Bree Taylor; a three-partner team from Locke Lord comprising Daniel Polden (real estate), Graham Spitz (corporate) and Luke Morris (banking); and construction specialist Hembling, who joined from Fenwick Elliott.
Wander said the latest hires represented further milestones in the growth of Fladgate.
“Strategic recruitment has been a recurring theme for the past few years and it is our intention to expand our business areas still further in the forthcoming months,” added Wander. “Ensuring we have the physical space to support our growth ambition is part of our ongoing business planning process.”
To that end Fladgate has announced it is taking more space in its Covent Garden headquarters.
The firm is taking back the floor it had sublet to management consultancy BearingPoint, with the fit-out starting today and the 8,200sq ft of additional space – enough for another 70 or 80 people – due to be ready by Christmas.
