LOD saw UK profits rise from £15,000 to £2m last year, as the flexi-lawyering business boosted turnover by 16% to £16.9m.

The Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) spinoff's 2016-17 accounts, filed last month, show that profit after tax amounted to £2.05m, up from just £15,000 the previous year.

Co-founder Simon Harper (pictured) told Legal Week that 2015-16′s low profitability had been down to costs incurred by the merger with Asia-Pacific counterpart AdventBalance, as well as other "exceptional costs", but that the investment had led to "a really good year" in 2016-17.

Harper added: "Last year was our merger year, so as you can imagine there were costs associated with that, but it was also about this one being a really good year, and we are very happy with our results. Our turnover went up by 14% in the UK following a year of big investment, so it was great to see that come through."

According to the accounts, LOD also declared a board approved dividend of £900,000 that was paid to its shareholders on 27 April 2017.

Staff costs fell 17% over the year from £2.5m to £2.1m, while the company's three UK directors took home £913,000 between them. The number of staff in the UK rose by four from 15 to 19.

The highest paid of the company's three UK directors – Simon Harper, Tom Hartley and Jonathan Brenner - received £458,000, less than the £495,000 earned in 2016.

Last year saw LOD open its first office in the Middle East with a Dubai launch overseen by managing director for the Middle East, Brett Menadue. This followed the tie-up with AdventBalance in February 2016.

LOD has grown quickly since it was launched in 2007 by Harper, then a partner at BLP, and Jonathan Brenner, BLP's then head of recruitment. It now has access to a bank of more than 600 lawyers and consultants across London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.