RPC has posted a 12.4% drop in profit per equity partner (PEP) for 2016-17 after a year in which the firm expanded its all-equity partnership and invested in new business lines.

The firm saw partner numbers grow 5% during 2016-17, up from 79 to 83, with PEP falling to £317,000, down from last year's figure of £362,000.

The top of the equity fell slightly, down from £1.05m to £1m, while the bottom of equity fell from £200,000 to £175,000.

Last month the firm announced an 8% fall in net profit for 2016-17, alongside a modest 2% increase in revenue to £103m.

The firm attributed the profit fall to investment in RPC Consulting, which launched in 2015, and the Centre for Legal Leadership (CLL), which launched earlier this year and provides coaching and support to in-house lawyers.

At the start of 2017, RPC appointed insurance head James Miller as its new managing partner, replacing longstanding leader Jonathan Watmough, who had stepped down months before his third term was officially due to end on 30 April this year.

Watmough had held the top role at RPC for eight years, encompassing three uncontested elections, and the firm is now mulling whether to limit the amount of time a managing partner can serve at the head of the firm.

Elsewhere, TLT has posted a marginal PEP increase from £252,000 to £254,000. The 1% rise means the firm's equity spread is unchanged on last year, ranging from £200,000 at the bottom to £400,000 at the top.