Hill Dickinson looks to Hong Kong for further growth

Managing partner Peter Jackson said the firm began looking at the jurisdiction six months ago with the aim of opening an office.

“The world economy is continuing shifting towards the East. We are hugely aware of Hong Kong’s key position to our future strategy, both for our marine and insurance practices, and we are closely looking at the options of a Hong Kong opening,” he said.

The firm launched in Singapore in March 2009 ( 12 January 2009) and Jackson said the firm was aiming to emulate the success of that base with a Hong Kong office.

The Singapore office posted strong growth at the 2011-12 year end with revenues up from £1.14m to £1.9m, contributing 1.7 per cent of the firm’s £110.1m turnover (13 June 2012).

“We’ve been taking on stiff competition in Singapore, but our Singapore office has been growing ahead of our business plan in terns of revenue, profit and recruitment over the last financial year,” Jackson commented.

“There are still parts of the market waiting to be tapped and there is room for new players. We see a similar gap in the market in Hong Kong to the one we found in Singapore.”

Jackson has visited Hong Kong three times but, he said, “at this stage we haven’t decided on how we will do this and whom we will do it with”.

The firm is also conscious of the strong competition in the region from other major City shipping firms – such as Clyde & Co, Holman Fenwick and Willan and Ince & Co - all have offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China.