Key management figures at Macfarlanes took home £4.3m between them in 2015-16, according to the firm's latest LLP accounts – a 13% increase on the previous year.

The accounts state that the group's combined remuneration rose from an equivalent figure of £3.9m the previous year. It is unclear from the accounts whether the number of people in the management team stayed the same.

The Companies House filings show operating profit fell 9% from £91m to £82.5m during 2015-16, while turnover increased by 1% to £161m. Meanwhile, the firm's top-earning partner saw income drop 12% from £2m to £1.76m.

Macfarlanes previously announced a 16% drop in profit per equity partner (PEP) in 2015-16 to £1.29m, with the dip following a particularly good year in 2014-15. That year, its PEP of £1.55m was second only to Slaughter and May among the UK top 50; however, these results were inflated "by the release of provisions for overdue fees that were subsequently settled".

In a statement, the firm said: "The remuneration figure in our 2015-16 accounts includes the compensation of a group of key management personnel, some of whom are partners and others not.

"As far as the fall in profits is concerned, we have been consistently clear that 2014-15 was a standout year for profitability. Accounting practice requires partner remuneration to be reported according to the year in which it is allocated. Therefore, the remuneration for partners within the group reflects the balance of the higher profits in 2014-15, which were not allocated in the accounts for that year but were required to be allocated in 2015-16."

The latest accounts show that staff costs rose to £48m in 2015-16, up from £44m the previous year. The firm had an average of 83 partners during the course of the year, compared to 81 in 2014-15. Its total professional staff also grew, climbing to 333 from 312 the preceding year. Support staff numbers increased to 219, up from 206.

Macfarlanes reported a pension scheme surplus of £715,000 for 2015-16, compared to a deficit of £2.3m the preceding year.

Macfarlanes' performance in 2015-16 followed two years of impressive growth for the firm, with revenue growing by 22% and PEP climbing by 21% in 2013-14, and revenue rising by 14% in 2014-15 alongside a 29% hike in PEP.