The highest paid member of Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co saw their earnings fall by nearly a quarter in 2014-15 according to the first set of accounts filed by the firm since the merger of Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham in May 2014.

In the year to 30 April 2014 Wragge & Co's top earner took home £967,000, but this fell 24% to £736,000 in 2014-15. Legacy Lawrence Graham's highest paid partner took home £655,000 in the year before the merger.

The merger boosted the average number of members of the partnership from 112 in 2014 to 163 in, but also hit average profit per partner, which fell from £386,000 to £346,000.

The firm's turnover for the financial year to April 2015 was £181m and its profit before members remuneration was £55.4m.

Lawrence Graham's turnover in 2014 was £50.7m and its profit before members remuneration was £17.7m, while Wragge & Co had a 2013-14 turnover of £121m and a profit before members remuneration of £42.6m.

The firm's bank borrowing also rose with £15.52m of bank loans listed in 2014-15, up from zero the previous year.

Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co announced in 2015 that it was to combine with Canadian firm Gowlings in early 2016 under the name Gowling WLG.

However, the two firms will keep separate partnerships and profit pools.

Gowling WLG will focus on four key sectors: energy and natural resources, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and technology.