Osborne Clarke (OC) has unveiled its end-of-year figures for 2011-12, with revenue up 8% to £97.7m, marking the firm's best-ever annual performance.

The 12-office firm, which maintains separate profit pools in its UK, Germany and US offices, has also seen UK profits per equity partner rise 1% to £406,000, following ten lateral hires over the course of the last year. UK net profit rose 6% to £29m, up from £27.4m in 2010-11.

Managing partner Simon Beswick (pictured) commented: ‪"Achieving 8% revenue growth in a challenging economic environment is a good result. In the UK it reflects a strong performance by our corporate transaction teams and firmwide it reflects the successes we are seeing in digital business, energy and financial services in particular and good growth in Germany."‬

OC recently announced plans to merge with its Spanish and Italian alliance arms, Osborne Clarke Spain and SLA Studio Legale Associato, under a Swiss Verein model.

Partners are expected to vote early next month, with the tie-up completed by late July, adding six new offices and 21 partners to the top 40 firm.

Meanwhile, OC is boosting its privacy and data protection team with the hire of Walt Disney Corporation EMEA principal counsel Sue Gold. Gold, who will join OC as a partner on 11 June, spent six years at Walt Disney and prior to that, a five-year stint at UBS, focusing on issues including data compliance strategies and training programmes.