Partners at Addleshaw Goddard will see their next profit distribution deferred, with the firm also delaying all pay reviews until  "early autumn" – blaming Brexit for the decision.

All lawyers at the firm – including fixed share partners expected to learn their share of profits – have had their August salary reviews postponed, while equity partners' next profit distribution has also been delayed.

Partners and staff were told of the decision to delay all reviews on Tuesday (2 August) by managing partner John Joyce.

The firm confirmed the move – first reported on RollOnFriday – in a statement, in which it attributed the delay to Brexit.

It said: "Like many other businesses in the UK, we have seen Brexit have an impact on activity levels in the short period since the referendum.

"As a consequence, we have decided to defer decisions on staff salary reviews and partner remuneration (usually scheduled for August) until early autumn, when we will have clarity on anticipated improvements in activity."

Addleshaws maintained that it would still make partner and staff bonus payments in September relating to the 2015-16 financial year, "regardless of the impact of Brexit".

Employment head Michael Leftley told Legal Week: "The decision to pause is really so we can make an informed decision on pay reviews. If we did them now and took a prudent approach we would be being a lot less generous than we expect to be able to be in the autumn. Come September, I'm comfortable we will see a significant uptick in activity."

He also said the profit distribution payment to equity partners would be made once the firm had made a decision on pay reviews.

News of the pay delays comes after Addleshaws reported a 39% spike in profit per equity partner (PEP) for 2015-16, against a 5% rise in revenue last month.

Revenue for the year ended 30 April 2016 climbed to £201.8m, up from £192.4m the previous year, with PEP soaring to £682,000, from £491,000 the preceding year.

The increase in PEP came alongside a fall in the number of full equity partners at Addleshaws, from an average of 93.5 in 2014-15 to 86.7 in 2015-16.

In May, it emerged that the firm was in merger talks with Virginia-headquartered US outfit Hunton & Williams, which could create a transatlantic firm with more than £500m in revenue.