Maclay Murray & Spens

Scotland-headquartered firm Maclay Murray & Spens saw turnover fall by 3.5 per cent to £46.9m during 2011–12.

While the turnover figure represents a fall of 23 per cent on the firm’s 2007-08 high of £61.1m, chief executive Chris Smylie said he believes that the £46.9m figure “marks the bottom of the curve” for Maclays.

He added that, while the headline figures show a drop in turnover from 2010–11 to 2011–12, the previous year’s figure included turnover from compliance advisory subsidiary Regulatory Solutions Limited, which the firm sold at the end of the 2010–11 financial year.

The firm’s employment and health and safety business Law At Work (LAW) has since spun out of the firm in a management buy-out led by former chief executive Magnus Swanson, meaning turnover for 2012–13 will also take a slight hit. LAW turned over £1.5m in the year to May 2011.

For Maclays growth in London remains a key priority, with the firm’s City base contributing 26 per cent of firmwide revenues in 2011–12. Glasgow and Edinburgh make up just over a third each with the remainder coming from the firm’s five-partner Aberdeen office, but it would like to see the balance shift very much in London’s favour.

Despite calling off merger discussions with Bristol-headquartered Bond Pearce in the summer of 2011, putting an end to plans to create a firm with turnover of almost £100m, Maclays is still on the lookout for a merger deal.