Kennedys
The strategy driven by Kennedys senior partner Nick Thomas is one of international expansion forged through mergers with alliance firms. The challenge with this is trying to develop and consolidate relationships while also running and growing a business.
Turnover (£m): 96.8
Average PEP: 400
Equity spread (£k): 220-560
Profit margin (%): 20
RPL (£k): 244
Vision – 
Execution –
Governance –
In the past year growth at Kennedys slowed marginally, with the firm posting a 9.7 per cent rise in global revenue, from £88.2m to £96.8m. This comes after growth of 30.7 per cent and 31.1 per cent in 2008-09 and 2009-10 respectively. At the 2008-09 year-end turnover stood at £67.3m and at the end of 2009-10 £88.2m.
On the international front the firm added a Miami base to its international network in September 2010 to capture work coming out of South America and flowing into the London market. It followed this in March by merging with its associate firm in Portugal, Almeida & Athayde.
Of course, this should not detract from the fact that Kennedys finalised its takeover of Halliwells’ 70-strong Sheffield office in the past financial year – a canny move driven by Thomas, his chief executive Guy Stobart and financial director Andy Webb, which saw it pick off the failed firm’s more successful insurance business. The deal actually began in December 2009, but the firm only officially opened its office there last July.
Kennedys has found itself in that precarious position of being able to offer what it calls a ‘cradle-to-grave service’ for its insurer client base. Precarious because being all things to all clients needs careful managing.
This is a driven very much by Thomas, who sees his firm’s client base dwindling as insurers cut panels to their bones and those winning coveted places have to do more to bag their places on the rosters.
