Despite a year of heavy investment in offices and people, Holman Fenwick & Willan's turnover and average profit were both up this year. PEP rose by 32 per cent to hit £409,000 globally and income went up to £61.6m.

Despite the impact on profit, Dubai and Melbourne so far account for just 2 per cent of turnover combined.

The costs of its new offices in Melbourne and Dubai, both launched with raids on other firms, had a negative effect on Holman's profit. Another cost was the hire of Hill Taylor Dickinson partner Brian Perrott and a team of commodities lawyers.

But the firm, which is in the process of paying off a 10 year-term loan, ended the year in credit. It has £700,000 left to repay, but this was not enough to leave the firm in debt, having enough working capital to offset the loan. Current investment in new assets is also financed through short-term loans.

Holman operates a 10-20 point modified lockstep. A committee comprising the senior and managing partners can move partners up or down the ladder depending on annual performance reviews, and it usually takes around seven years to reach the top of the lockstep. Five per cent of the profit is paid as bonuses.

Average compensation for non-equity partners is £142,500 across the firm. This rises to an average of £172,000 in the UK, where average PEP is also higher at £415,000.

However, Holman's profit margin for the firm as a whole, at 33 per cent, is higher than in the UK, which comes in at 30 per cent. The difference can be accounted for by a lower partner to fee-earner ratio in the UK. The Far East (Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore) now accounts for 15 per cent of Holman's income.

Turnover matches partner concentration. Litigation, the largest group with 72 partners worldwide, accounts for 80 per cent of revenue, while corporate's nine partners bring in 10 per cent of revenue.