Allen & Overy (A&O), Wragge & Co and Nabarro have announced their half-year results for 2012-13, as tough markets continue to impact on law firm financial performance across the UK top 50.

A&O has seen revenues fall at the half-year point, with turnover down 2.7% to £566m from last year's H1 figure of £582m. However, the firm said that on a constant currency basis, reported turnover grew by 1%.

Managing partner Wim Dejonghe said that despite the drop, the firm had seen growth in Germany, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Poland and pointed to deal highlights including advising the Italian Government on its €18bn (£14.5bn) bond sale, understood to be the largest-ever single debt offering in Europe.

The drop in half-year revenues is likely to be replicated at a number of other major UK law firms, with Berwin Leighton Paisner and Addleshaw Goddard among those expecting H1 revenues to have fallen slightly, with Olswang forecasting a 3% dip and Herbert Smith Freehills a drop of less than 5%. SJ Berwin also last week announced a slight drop of around 1% to £83m for the first six months of the financial year.

Dejonghe (pictured above) said: "The markets are what they are. There is pressure across the globe and unfortunately we need to get used to it. Corporate and M&A activity levels are still very low, and London has suffered from the Jubilee and Olympics, leading to lower levels of work in the City over the summer.

However, some firms are set to buck the trend, with partners at A&O's magic circle rival Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer suggesting fee income is up by around 5%, after broadly static revenues at the firm over the last three years.

ianmetcalfeMeanwhile, Wragges has posted a H1 revenue figure of £60.6m, up more than 4% on the half-year figure the firm reported last year of £58m. Managing partner Ian Metcalfe (pictured right) put the growth down to impressive performances in its real estate, energy and regulatory practices with its Paris office also ahead of budget.

"Although we are slightly behind our aggressively set target, being marginally ahead of our 2011 H1 figure is a positive result in relation to the wider market. Real estate has been performing particularly well, but the corporate sector has been quiet. Deals are proving difficult to drag across the line with buyers renegotiating and funders withdrawing. We recently saw three deals collapse on us in one day which was frustrating for all involved."

simon-johnstonElsewhere, Nabarro has posted an estimated 2% rise in revenues to £52.3m, up from £51.2m last year. Senior partner Simon Johnston (pictured right) commented: "Our full-year results for 2011-12 marked a return to growth for Nabarro – I am pleased that we have maintained this momentum during the first half of the financial year."

Among other firms, Kennedys' H1 figure is expected to have grown by around 10% as insurance-focused firms continue to outpace the majority of the UK top 50 for growth, with Clyde & Co reporting a double-digit increase in revenue for the first half of 2012-13, with a 37% rise in turnover to £145m following its merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert. Excluding the merger, the firm saw like-for-like turnover rise by 10% during the six months to 31 October.

Bird & Bird is also forecasting double-digit growth for the first half of the year, while Irwin Mitchell is predicting a single-digit H1 increase. Partners at Eversheds, meanwhile, have suggested that the firm's half-year results will be broadly static on last year.

Other firms to have publically revealed their H1 revenues to date include Weightmans, which last week unveiled a 9% hike to £38.3m, up from last year's H1 total of £35.2m.