Guildhall nears £11.2m revenue target

Bristol-based set Guildhall Chambers has posted half-year figures that are 11 per cent up on the same period last year, with the growth driven by its insolvency and commercial teams.

The half-year results put the common law set on course to hit its turnover target of £11.2m by the end of the financial year, with the revenue per barrister averaging £178,000.

Head of chambers Peter Blair QC said the set has seen consistently good growth across the whole practice.

"The growth comes despite the downward national trend in publicly funded criminal cases," said Blair. "Excellent results for our large criminal defence and regulatory crime practices have sustained the team, which accounts for 30 per cent of chambers' work."

The performance has meant the 66-barrister set, the largest in the South West, can push forward with its plans to launch a dedicated sports group.

It will also fund the set's aggressive recruitment plans, which have already seen Guildhall take on barrister Rupert Lowe of St John's Chambers, and give the chambers' two pupils Daisy Brown and Mary Cowe tenancy.