Freshfields, Links, Ashurst expect to post year-on-year rise for H1

Widespread year-on-year revenue growth across the UK's top law firms at the half-year point has helped drive business confidence among partners to its highest point in several years.

Firms including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Macfarlanes and Ashurst are all expecting to post a rise in H1 figures on last year as the impact of increased deal flow in the second half of the year starts to be seen.

Freshfields is predicting a 3%-4% turnover increase at the H1 stage, which one partner put down to strong M&A numbers and private equity work, which he said was "back with a bang".

Ashurst is expecting revenues to be up, possibly by as much as 7%, off the back of a particularly strong performance in its banking and finance group, while Linklaters and Clifford Chance (CC) are also understood to have seen a rise at the half-year point.

Linklaters corporate partner Charlie Jacobs commented: "All firms should have had a more solid six months compared with the first half of the previous year. We have seen an increase in general deal activity, although there still isn't a flurry of M&A deals. Europe and Asia are coming back and emerging markets such as Brazil are looking hopeful."

Several firms have posted very strong starts to the year, with both Clyde & Co and Olswang recording revenue increases of more than 15%.

Clydes grew H1 turnover by 16.5% to £169m, which managing partner James Burns put down to "a combination of underlying growth and improvements in our working capital management", while Olswang posted a 15% increase in revenue for the first six months of 2013-14 to £57.6m.

Other firms reporting increased turnover at the half-way point include Macfarlanes and Burges Salmon, while Field Fisher Waterhouse and Weightmans both achieved a 7% rise on the same period last year to £49.9m and £41m respectively. Charles Russell has posted a 4% increase.

Berwin Leighton Paisner is also expected to post increased revenues on last year's figures, although one partner said: "Given what a terrible year that was it would have been hard not to beat."

Hogan Lovells and Nabarro are expected to post broadly static results.

Signs of a more stable economic picture for the sector are backed by a Legal Week poll, which this week found 94% of partners expect revenues to grow at their firm over the next 12 months, with almost half (47%) believing fee income will rise by 5%-10%.

Partners also expect revenue across the UK top 50 as a whole to grow in the coming year, with 53% predicting the group's combined revenues will grow by up to 5%. Just 7% of respondents are anticipating a fall in revenue across the group, with 13% believing it will be static.

The trend is in marked contrast to this time last year, when one in three partners expected revenues to fall or remain static in 2013.

CC head of finance Mark Campbell said: "Both from a transactional side and on the litigation front, it's been a very strong start to the year.

"Capital markets have been more open than they have been in a long time, and there has been increased confidence among clients. Certainly the London office has been very busy, but we're seeing strong performance across the firm."