Its aggressive expansion plans left DLA Piper's rivals lost for words as it followed its tripartite merger with a seemingly relentless stream of acquisitions across Europe and Asia. Competitors could only console themselves by hoping that the growth would have a stunting effect on its financial performance.

They were disappointed. It is true that DLA Piper has not seen the same levels of financial growth as many of its competitors, but turnover and PEP both registered double-digit increases.

Turnover rose by 13.9 per cent to £366.4m, up from £322m last year. The first nine months of the financial period saw chief executive Nigel Knowles embark on a rapid set of acquisitions, adding new offices in Beijing, Dubai and Frankfurt, while significantly adding to its operations in Japan, Russia, Singapore and Spain.

In the UK turnover rose by just 5 per cent to £269.3m. The regions have remained key to DLA Piper's business model in the UK, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of UK turnover.

PEP in Europe and Asia grew by 12.9 per cent to £604,000, up from £535,000. This compares well to the firm's global PEP figure of £569,000. However, with only a third of the 459-strong partnership holding equity, the firm's average earning per partner (EPP) falls well below this level.

EPP at DLA Piper is a shabby £283,000, less than 50 per cent of the PEP figure and just 3 per cent above bottom of equity, which stands at £275,000. UK PEP increased by 10.5 per cent to £619,000.

The figures represent just the European and Asian operations of DLA Piper, reflecting the separate profit pools of the firm, and they therefore provide a genuine like-for-like comparison on 2004-05's figures.

DLA Piper has made some steps towards Anglo-US integration of its finances. The Europe and Asia half has altered its accounting to run from January to December (although the preceding figures run from May to April), while the US component has changed from reporting its accounts on a cash to an accruals basis. DLA Piper is also planning to launch three global cash pools to cover costs, investments and bonuses. The firm's US operation (the Piper Rudnick Gray Cary arm) grossed $839.5m (£479.71m) for the 2005 calendar year.

The key for DLA Piper now is to translate its expansion into revenue. It will take until next year to see exactly what impact the new offices and headcount will have on fee income. With this level of growth, anything less than overtaking Lovells' place in the top five will surely be considered a failure.