Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has repaid a £18.6m debt used largely to refurbish its City premises and launch its Moscow operations, according to the firm's limited liability partnership (LLP) account.

The 2010-11 accounts reveal that BLP moved from being £18.6m in debt in 2009-10 to £854,000 in credit last year, writing off all money owed on the upgrade of its Adelaide House premises and its Russia office launch.

The LLP filings also show that total profits rose by 40% during 2010-11 to £82.6m, after the firm last year reported a 57.5% increase in partner profits to £712,000. The audited turnover figures in the accounts show a 19% increase for the year from £191.4m to £228.4m.

Total staff salaries grew £9m to £78.3m alongside an increase in firmwide staff numbers (excluding partners) from 1,097 to 1,158, while the average number of partners at the firm remained steady at 176 – the same number as the previous year.

The highest-paid member for 2010-11 took home £1.65m last year, marginally higher than the previous year when the top earner received £1.6m,

BLP managing partner Neville Eisenberg said: "We had a very strong year last year with revenues growing across our international offices and significant partner recruitment that contributed to the increase in turnover.

"We are well-positioned in the market at the moment in various sectors and are continuing to improve the complexity and quality of work we're doing across the firm. I expect the firm to see an increase in revenues this year, but not on the same dramatic scale as last year."

The firm's LLP accounts include its two trustee businesses, Paicolex Trust Management in Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Gamma in the BVI, although individual breakdowns of the companies' contributions are not provided.

The businesses are wholly owned by BLP and were brought to the firm by legacy Paisner & Co when it merged with Berwin Leighton in 2001.