Watson Farley boosts turnover by 25%
Watson Farley & Williams has defied the downturn to post a 25% increase in turnover. The firm saw fee income climb from £59m last year to £73.5m for 2008-09. Meanwhile, profits per equity partner have grown by 7%, increasing from £424,000 to £430,000.
June 11, 2009 at 05:14 AM
2 minute read
Watson Farley & Williams has defied the downturn to post a 25% increase in turnover.
The firm saw fee income climb from £59m last year to £73.5m for 2008-09.
Meanwhile, profits per equity partner have grown by 1.4%, increasing from £424,000 to £430,000.
Watson Farley said the growth reflected the firm's expansion throughout the year, with two new office launches and an increase in fee earner headcount.
In June the firm opened in Munich after merging with a five-lawyer private equity boutique, while the Italian practice launched a month earlier in Milan.
Watson Farley also increased fee earner headcount by 17% during the past year, bringing lawyer numbers at the UK top 50 firm to 200 across its various offices.
Commenting on the results, managing partner Michael Greville said: "We experienced a strong first six months to end October 2008 and, while we have noticed a decrease in utilisation since the [fourth quarter] of 2008, there remains reasonable amounts of work across the firm."
Greville also said that the depreciation of the pound had a positive effect on the firm's top line.
He added: "Real growth in fee income was greater than growth in headcount and we are pleased to have ended the year with profits per partner holding steady. [The firm] does not have a highly leveraged business model and this helps us to maintain profitability in a downturn. While it is difficult to predict what the current year will bring, we feel well positioned to face the challenges."
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