Bird & Bird boosts PEP by almost 10% on the back of international expansion
Firm posts positive financials after San Francisco launch and Chinese co-operation agreement
June 28, 2018 at 08:36 AM
2 minute read
Bird & Bird has posted a 6% increase in revenue, alongside a 9.5% rise in profit per equity partner (PEP) for 2017-18.
The firm, which reports its financial results in euros, saw revenues rise by 5.9% from €361m to €382.3m. However, the firm added that on a sterling basis, revenue was up 11.1% from £303.2m to £337m.
The turnover rise came alongside a 9.5% increase in PEP to €624,000 (£550,000), while net debt fell during the year from €49m (£43m) to less than €26m (£22m) as at 30 April 2018.
Commenting on the results, CEO David Kerr (pictured) told Legal Week: "We have seen strong growth in areas such as technology acquisitions – a lot of M&A is being driven by acquisitions that provide access to technology. Data is also proving to be very important and was very busy in the last year, as well as more concern among clients regarding complex regulation.
"Geographically, we have seen high growth in the Asia-Pacific region, but we have also had good growth in nearly all of our markets."
As part of the firm's Asia-Pacific expansion, it last year secured a cooperation agreement with Chinese firm AllBright enabling both firms to work together on joint business development mandates. The deal also saw the Chinese firm open a new City base located at Bird & Bird's premises at 12 New Fetter Lane.
Kerr said the relationship has developed "quicker than expected" since the agreement was finalised. He added: "Like everything in China, things move faster than elsewhere in the world. The strategy for us was to target work coming out from Chinese companies and we have seen a wide range of different types of work emerging."
In October last year, the firm also launched a base in San Francisco focused on technology clients. The new base does not offer US legal advice, but instead works with the firm's 'best friend' US firms. Kerr said the office was part of the firm's strategy to be "the number one firm advising companies being transformed by technology".
Bird & Bird also bolstered its corporate finance offering during the year, with the addition of a 20-strong team in Budapest following Weil Gotshal & Manges shuttering its Budapest office.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Rivals Seize Opportunity as A&O Shearman, Hogan Lovells Vacate South Africa
5 minute read
Swiss Lawyers Sanctioned by U.S. Treasury Over Russia Denounce 'Political' Accusations
3 minute read
Exclusive: Mayer Brown Shutters Mexico City Office, Lawyers Scatter
Kingsley Napley and Lord Pannick Spearhead Private Schools' Challenge to Government VAT Policy
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 3Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 4Meet the Lawyers on Kamala Harris' Transition Team
- 5Trump Files $10B Suit Against CBS in Amarillo Federal Court
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
