BLM has posted a 21% increase in profit per equity partner (PEP) for 2016-17, while revenue has fallen from £107.7m to £106.7m.

The firm's PEP for the year was £232,000, an increase from £192,000 in 2015-16. However, the increase was not enough to take PEP back to its 2014-15 levels, when the firm posted a figure of £265,000.

Senior partner Mike Brown (pictured) said the results came after "necessary investment" during the financial year.

"We have always maintained that we will make necessary investments to support our customers and the wider firm and this has remained a priority throughout the last 12-18 months.

"We have had to make a number of strategic decisions during this period to get us where we need to be, whilst also investing in new skills and expertise to take our firm forward."

Total partner numbers fell from 77 in 2015-16 to 71 last year, with equity partner numbers falling by one from 57 to 56.

Brown said: "Our investments throughout 2016-17 have included a new data analytics function to work with our customers as they more accurately forecast and manage future insurance claims.

"Technology continues to be a major focus at BLM and we are re-shaping our internal systems, including investing in further development of our case management software, speech recognition systems, and learning and development applications."

In July, the firm appointed Manchester claims solutions head Vivienne Williams as its managing partner following the departure of Gary Allison after just eight months. The firm also offered voluntary redundancy to 50 secretarial and direct support staff in June this year.