Lovells defies crunch: turnover up 15 per cent

Lovells has seen fee income increase 15 per cent over the first half of this year, up from £225m at the same point last year to £260m.

Managing partner David Harris (pictured) said the counter cyclical nature of the firm’s practice has contributed to its strong performance, although he warned that given the economic climate revenues could fall off over the next six months.

“I’m always cautious about half-year figures because they are not necessarily an indication of what will happen in the rest of the year,” said Harris. “In the current climate it’s especially difficult to predict what will happen.”

In terms of practice areas, Harris said the corporate group had defied expectations by posting a rise in turnover while litigation and business restructuring have been particularly strong.

“We’ve seen a significant increase on the counter cyclical side in litigation and business restructuring,” said Harris. “Because of the work we’ve been doing on SIVs [structured investment vehicles] that’s been keeping the capital markets team busy too. Corporate transactions work has been seeing a reasonable level of activity, which is slightly weird.”

Geographically, Harris said the firm’s continental Europe and London offices were both up while Asia and the Middle East had performed strongly.

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