Recession finally takes bite out of Gide as 2009 turnover suffers e38m slump

Gide Loyrette Nouel saw its turnover decrease by nearly 15 per cent to e220m (£192.87m) over the 2009 financial year.

That is e38m lower than the e258m posted by the Paris-based firm the ­previous year.

Gide managing partner Christophe Eck said the results showed, for the first time, the impact the Europe-wide recession has had on the firm.

“Some offices suffered from the economic crisis before it reached Paris, so we were expecting a decrease,” said Eck. “The M&A market went down in Europe by more than 50 per cent, which affected our core practices.”

Over 2009 the firm opened offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, taking its total number of offices worldwide to 24.

Gide’s 355-lawyer Paris office relies heavily on its M&A and banking and finance practices, which account for more than 50 per cent of its overall ­revenue. The firm’s Paris operation saw a revenue drop of 13 per cent, from e159m in 2008 to e138m in 2009.

Eck, who was appointed as managing partner at the start of the year, said that despite all the firm’s ­practice areas being affected, some departments, such as real estate, were surprisingly buoyant and overall he expected a better result in 2010.

“Our strategy hasn’t changed,” he added. “The practice areas that were impacted have all picked up.”

With 685 lawyers, Gide is the Continent’s sixth-largest firm. More than 50 per cent of the firm’s lawyers are based outside France.