Taylor Walton

South-east firm Taylor Walton saw its top line go up in 2011–12 as its turnover grew by 4.4 per cent to £8.3m from £7.95m in 2010–11. The firm, which has offices in Harpenden, Luton and St Albans, had been on a downward trend after 2007–08, when it recorded total revenues of £10.8m.

Taylor Walton's managing partner Dermot Carey, now serving his third term, noted that the firm's profit in 2011–12 also increased in line with the revenue growth.

The firm's corporate headquarters in Luton remained the largest revenue centre, while the private client-focused Harpenden office also achieved satisfactory results. Carey says that over the past two years the trend towards clients seeking competitive offerings has become more obvious, giving firms outside large cities a competitive edge in commercial real estate and employment work.

The firm has recruited four new lawyers over the past financial year, including ex-Slaughter and May corporate transactions lawyer Kate Stevenson. In terms of partner appointments, the firm hired SA Law insolvency associate Guy Thomas as a partner and promoted employment lawyer Alec Colson to partner, both based in Luton. However, it lost Luton-based IT and outsourcing partner Sam De Silva to Manches.