Kennedys

Insurance firm Kennedys enjoyed a healthy year of growth in 2011–12 with positive turnover contributions across its international network. The firm broke through the £100m turnover barrier for the first time, recording a 12.6 per cent increase in international revenue, from £96.8m in 2010–11 to £109m for 2011–12.

This was mirrored in the UK with a 9 per cent rise, from £77m to £84m, and an 11.7 per cent boost in London, from £55.5m to £62m.

Senior partner Nick Thomas, who joined when the firm had just seven partners, has seen Kennedys more than double in size since 2007–08. That growth has been driven not by any full-service firm aspirations, but rather by Kennedys concentrating on being a good-quality, large niche business offering clients every class of insurance advice in the UK and internationally. This means Thomas sees the firm as recession-proof — neither ramping up in the good times nor plumbing the depths in the bad.

In October 2012 The Lawyer reported that the firm is in early-stage tie-up talks with Scotland’s Simpson & Marwick.