Insurance and shipping firms the only grouping to see double-digit growth in 2010-11

Insurance and shipping firms have once again outpaced the UK top 50, with the firms seeing both revenues and profits per equity partner (PEP) increase by an average of 10.3%.

The group, which comprises Clyde & Co, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Holman Fenwick Willan, Kennedys, Watson Farley & Williams, Ince & Co and Berrymans Lace Mawer, represents the only law firm grouping to see double-digit increases in both PEP 
and turnover.

Six of the seven law firms saw revenues increase, while Ince, the only firm to buck the trend, saw revenues stay broadly static – dipping just 0.1%.

While Clydes remains the largest firm in the group, with revenues almost double those of its nearest rival Holman Fenwick, at £212m compared with £112.5m, Barlows saw the biggest improvement in its financial performance during the last financial year.

The firm saw turnover grow by 17% to £95.5m, up from £81.6m last year, while PEP increased by 30% to around £390,000. Barlows, which was the only insurance firm to see turnover dip during 2009-10, attributed much of its growth to its acquisition of the Manchester insurance arm of failed firm Halliwells last summer. The deal saw the firm take on around 18 partners from Halliwells.

Looking purely at profits, Berrymans saw the largest increase in PEP in the insurance group, with profits growing by 32% to reach £293,000, up from £222,000 in 2009-10.

The strong performance of the firms comes against a backdrop of growing consolidation and international expansion in the insurance market. Barlows and Clydes are set to vote later this month on a merger that would create an insurance giant just outside the UK top 10, with revenues of more than £300m.

Meanwhile, national firm Beachcroft is in talks to merge with top 75 insurance and real estate outfit Davies Arnold Cooper, which would create a law firm with combined revenues of around £175m, while Kennedys has merged with a number of its international alliance firms over the last year.

Barlows chief executive David Jabbari said: "It has been a very exciting time to be operating within EC3 and the international insurance market. The growth prospects remain very strong. Insurance clients are highly sophisticated purchasers of legal services who want to see more innovation from law firms, not just in the UK but in all their major markets."

Clydes chief executive Peter Hasson (pictured) said: "Although the insurance sector has proved fairly resilient, the UK and European economies seem to remain fragile, with growth occurring in international markets. The successful insurance and shipping practices are those that have best embraced these international markets and continue to look for opportunities to build their market share."