Macfarlanes breaks back through £100m barrier as turnover jumps 8 per cent

The City firm turned over £102.2m in the 2011-12 financial year, up from £94.7m in 2010-11, with 37.4 per cent of the total coming from its corporate practice, its largest group.

The overall revenue figure is the highest since 2008, when the firm brought in fees of £110m (30 June 2008).

PEP for 2011-12 has hit £903,000, up on £752,000 in 2010-11, with the news following last year’s more modest hike of 6 per cent alongside a 2.5 per cent turnover increase (8 July 2011).

The figures come amid a shrinking of the firm’s equity partnership, with the firm saying it had 47 equity partners in 2011-12 as an average across the year, a drop of 11 per cent on 53 in 2010-11. Total partner count dropped by nearly 5 per cent from 74 to 70.6.

Senior partner Charles Martin told The Lawyer: “I don’t think there’s any magic here. All our people have worked pretty hard. We’ve done some terrific work.”

Commenting on the drop in equity partner numbers, Martin said there had been a number of partners retiring and that the firm constantly reviews its partners’ performance.

He added: “Undoubtedly the equity partner numbers are down and if you’re talking about PEP, that makes a difference. We’re pleased with [the PEP figure] but it’s not the be-all and end-all.

“We constantly review the performance of all partners. No one can afford to rest on their laurels for two minutes.”

In the latest financial year, Macfarlanes’ finance practice brought in 18.4 per cent of total revenue, litigation 16.8 per cent, property 13.3 per cent and the rest of the business 14.1 per cent.