Herbert Smith took out a £6.7m loan in 2010-11 according to recently filed limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts, with part of the loan going towards fitting out the firm's new Belfast office.

Details of the loan are contained within accounts, filed earlier this month with Companies House, which also show that at the close of the financial year the firm's overdraft stood at £18.7m compared with £7.6m the previous year, taking total bank borrowings to £70.9m. Despite the increase the firm's total overdraft facility remained unchanged.

Herbert Smith announced plans to open a base in Belfast to handle volume disputes work in November 2010, with the office opening in April 2011 and now housing around 56 employees, 49 of which are fee earners.

The accounts also show that Herbert Smith's audited turnover was £4m lower than the figure reported at the close of the financial year, standing at £461.6m compared with the unaudited figure of £465.1m.

The firm's Asia arm saw a 27.6% surge in revenues during 2010-11 to reach £83.2m, up from £65.2m, while London saw a 2% drop in turnover from £311.1m to £304.9m. The change in global revenue means that turnover increased by 2.3% year-on-year rather than the 3.4% reported.

Salary costs increased by 6.4% over the year, rising from £166.3m in 2009-10 to £176.9m in 2010-11, with the average number of non fee-earning staff at Herbert Smith growing by 45 to 1,061. Total staff numbers increased from 2,240 to 2,281.

The highest-paid member received £1.1m down from £1.2m in 2009-10, while the amount of cash at bank and in hand at the close of 2010-11 fell 16% to £29.6m down from £35.1m the previous year.

Details of the firm's accounts come as it has emerged that Herbert Smith is in talks to tie up with Australia's Freehills, making it the latest in a growing list of leading UK players attempting to enter the strategically important market.