MacRoberts

Turnover at Scottish firm MacRoberts, which has offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, fell to £17.3m during 2011–12, although the firm’s partner headcount increased by four. This was thanks to the promotion of four lawyers in January 2012: disputes specialist Gillian Craig, planning expert Moray Thompson, pensions lawyer Martyn Shaw and employment lawyer Gina Wilson.

Revenue per partner fell from an estimated £481,000 in 2010–11 to £376,000 in 2011–12.

In June 2010 MacRoberts moved into new premises in Glasgow, taking 33,500sq ft in the Capella Building, one of a few buildings in Glasgow to offer Grade-A office space. While the firm did not disclose how much it pays in annual property costs, the offices were being marketed for an average of £26 per sq ft in early 2010, meaning annual rent would be around £871,000. The firm also has space in Edinburgh’s Excel House.

After the end of the 2011-12 financial year MacRoberts revealed that it was keeping on just two of its 11 September 2012 qualifiers, giving it a trainee retention rate of 18 per cent. The firm blamed its 60 per cent retention rate the previous year and “the fact that market conditions continue to be challenging”.