The profit attributable to Kennedys' highest paid member fell 11% last year despite a 19% rise in operating profit, the firm's accounts reveal.

Kennedys Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) accounts for the year to 30 April 2014, filed at Companies House, showed operating profit rose 19% to £35.6m from £29.9m the previous year on the back of the acquisition of Kennedys Aviation LLP, formerly Gates and Partners, in June 2013.

But the share of profit attributable to the highest paid partner at the firm dropped 11% to £485,961 from £545,868.

Turnover at the firm rose 11% to £123m in 2013-14, up from £111m in 2012-13.

Staff costs jumped to £53m, from £48m, as fee earner headcount rose to 565, from 474. The number full equity partners at Kennedys increased by 11 and the number of partial equity members rose by 14.

The UK accounted for £84m of Kennedys' turnover, while £9m came from the EU, and £30m from other overseas markets.

The accounts showed the firm had net debt of £18.2m at the end of the year, equating to 15% of turnover and just over half of the firm's operating profit for the year.
At 1 May 2013, the firm had £17.2m of net debt.

Though the firm increased its cash position by £20.4m over the year, a net cash outflow from financing of £21.5m cancelled out any benefit this would have brought to the firm's net debt position.

The firm paid more than £185,948 in interest payments on bank loans and overdrafts, as well as more than £600,000 in charges for "other loans and finance lease" during the year.