Halliwells trousers £45K Lottery money to keep fit

Halliwells has bagged £45,000 in National Lottery money from Sport England to fund a fitness drive for its staff.

Halliwells, which had a net profit of £16m in 2005, was one of a number of beneficiaries of a £1.2m fund that was handed out by Sport England to companies in the North West. Others include ITV and the world's richest football club Manchester United.

A Halliwells spokesperson went on the defensive, saying that Halliwells was one of a number of law firms to apply for the funding. "Everything about this is positive," he said.

He said the firm will spend the cash primarily on support staff, paying for gym membership and fitness classes.

The firm is benefiting from a pilot scheme run by the North West Regional Sports Board designed to increase the fitness of employees in private companies.

Under the terms of the scheme, Halliwells is matching the £45,000 grant with the same amount from its own funds.

The firm is expecting to make more than £60m this year, with average profit per equity partner of more than £400,000.

The successful applicants to the scheme had to show that they would be able to sustain staff participation and demonstrate how the organisation would contribute to the project.