Simmons & Simmons has joined the growing roster of firms reporting double-digit growth in the last six months, earning £143m in fee income at the half-year stage.
This is a stronger rate of growth than this time last year. Today’s results represent an increase of 16 per cent on last year’s half-year results, when Simmons earned £123m in fee income after a 14 per cent jump.
At the end of the 2006-07 financial year, Simmons’ turnover stood at £250.4m after a 10.3 per cent increase on the previous year.
Managing partner Mark Dawkins said: “”We are yet to notice any significant impact on our business from the summer’s credit crunch: current work levels remain high but the ongoing uncertainty means the firm cannot become complacent.
“However, we are confident that with our sector focus, our strong international network and our high quality legal teams that the firm is well placed to respond to whatever happens during the next six months.”
Dawkins said in particular that the firm’s European offices had posted strong growth in the last six months. Since the beginning of the financial year, the top 15 firm has opened in Moscow, its twenty-first international office.
Dawkins has also set a target of an average profit per equity partner (PEP) of £600,000 by the end of the financial year. This would be a 12.8 per cent rise on the current PEP of £532,000.
Simmons joins Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Clifford Chance, CMS Cameron McKenna, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, Lovells, Nabarro, Norton Rose, Pinsent Masons and SJ Berwin in posting double-digit growth in half-year results.
So far, Ashurst and Herbert Smith have experienceed the strongest jump in fee income, at 25 per cent while Lovells and Pinsent Masons reported the lowest trajectory so far, growing by a relatively undramatic 10 per cent each.
