SJ Berwin will restart its profits payouts this month, as the firm's partners begin to receive some of the millions of pounds owed to them.

The firm has said that monthly instalments will be made "as cash permits" and that it will remain prudent with regard to cash management.

As previously reported by Legal Week, SJ Berwin has held back around £18m of what would normally have been quarterly profit distributions since November 2008.

The UK top 20 firm last made a full quarterly distribution in February last year, leaving partners to rely on regular monthly drawings, which range from £150,000 to £200,000 a year, depending on seniority.

SJ Berwin declined to comment on how large the monthly profit repayments will be, or how long it will take to repay the debt to partners. The firm also declined to specify whether it had paid out the quarterly distribution that partners were due this February.

Until now the firm has been keeping the unpaid capital in the business in an effort to shore up its finances during the economic crisis, previously stating that it was choosing to hold back profits rather than increase its bank borrowings.

An SJ Berwin spokesperson said: "It is possible to recommence payments because we are seeing somewhat of a revival in the markets, but obviously we will remain prudent as the market is still uncertain."

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