Specialist litigation firm Stewarts Law has posted a 30% jump in average profit per equity partner (PEP) to £2m for the 2016-17 year.

The firm has also announced a 25% increase in revenue to £78.1m, which could see the firm enter the UK top 50 for the first time.

The firm's top-earning partner earned just under £2.5m last year, with its equity spread ranging from £968,148 to £2.458m.

Total remuneration to all classes of partner was £44.5m, while net profit was £36.4m.

Stewarts managing partner John Cahill (pictured above) said: "During the year, we concluded a number of long-running cases and this has contributed to our strong revenue and profit figures.

"Our results reinforce our decision 17 years ago to build a diverse litigation-only law firm focusing on high value and complex disputes. In over 50% of those disputes we are sharing risk with our clients through contingent fee arrangements, including both damages-based agreements and conditional fee agreements.

"Increasingly, this will result in 'non-linear' patterns of income, which will in turn lead to fluctuations in profit."

During the past five years, the firm's revenue has grown by 124% while PEP has increased by 125% in the same period.

Earlier this year, Stewarts held merger talks with fellow litigation boutique Enyo Law, which posted revenue of £20.7m in 2015-16. However, the talks ended in March, with both firms choosing not to pursue a deal

Significant hires for the firm this year have included Herbert Smith Freehills advocacy head Ian Gatt QC, who joined in February.