Cobbetts has agreed to refinance £10m in existing loan and overdraft facilities in a new deal with Lloyds Banking Group, according to limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts recently filed with Companies House.

The accounts confirm that the firm switched its banking facilities from Royal Bank of Scotland to Lloyds after the close of the 2010-11 financial year, agreeing £7.5m in loans and an overdraft facility of £2.5m.

The firm made £1.6m of debt repayments over the last financial year, taking total borrowings at the close April 2011 to £10.7m – slightly higher than the equivalent £2009-10 figure of £10.5m.

The accounts confirm that the firm's turnover for the last financial year climbed marginally from £44m to £44.7m, with operating profit dropping slightly from £11m to £10.6m. Profit available for division among members fell from £10.1m to £9m.

Cobbetts' top earner took home £400,000 in 2010-11, up from £292,500 the previous financial year.

Partner headcount fell by six to 79, while the number of fee earners grew slightly from 285 to 290, with support staff numbers staying broadly static at 203. Total staff costs climbed from £17.5m to £18.5m.

Finance director James Boyd said the higher staff costs were partially the result of many staff returning to work full time after 12 months on a four-day week, a cash-saving initiative introduced during the economic downturn.

The slight climb in turnover was also attributed to the return to a five-day week. The firm introduced a four-day working week in May 2009.

Boyd said: "Costs rose due to our staff returning to a five-day week, with the salaries subsequently impacting on our net cash flow."

Cobbetts today officially called off merger talks with fellow northwest firm DWF due to "current uncertainty in market conditions". A merger would have catapulted the united firm into the UK top 30, with combined revenues of around £128m.