Penningtons

City-based Penningtons’ turnover rose by more than 34 per cent last year, from £24.1m in 2010–11 to £32.3m in 2011–12. Much of that growth came as a result of the firm’s bolt-on mergers with Dawsons and Wedlake Saint in 1 May 2011 and 6 April 2011 respectively, but not all of it.

According to chief executive David Raine, only around £4m of the total £8.2m increase in revenue was down to the mergers. The rest was the result of Penningtons’ lateral hiring strategy, which has been in place for three years and has focused the firm on sectors such as education, healthcare and technology.

Despite the changes, business services — which includes company and commercial, commercial dispute resolution, employment, immigration, professional regulation and travel — remains Pennington’s biggest group, accounting for 40 per cent of revenue. Raine added that the firm’s corporate and employment groups had grown the most over the past year.

The next goal is to increase the amount of work it gets from overseas. Pennington’s is a founding member of two international law firm networks — European Law Group and Multilaw.

The firm also now has 61 partners (25 of whom are in the equity), up from 48 (with 22 in the equity) in 2010–11.