RPC has posted a 10% rise in both revenue and net profit for the 2017-18 financial year.

The firm's revenue increased from £102.8m to £112.7m, with net profit climbing  to £29.1m from £26.4m. Profit per equity partner (PEP) hit £340,000 – a 7% increase on the previous year's figure of £317,000.

The top of the equity rose to £1.2m, with the bottom climbing to £185,000.

Despite the year-on-year growth, PEP still lags behind the 2015-16 figure of £362,000, after RPC posted a 12% fall in average PEP in 2016-17 on the back of expanding its all-equity partnership.

Commenting on the latest performance, managing partner James Miller said: "These encouraging results come off the back of a lot of hard work at the firm and some really excellent client wins throughout 2017. We have seen promising performance across core sectors such as insurance, retail, technology and media. We have also benefited from our strength across our busy commercial and financial disputes and regulatory practices.

"We had a number of major disputes which crystalised in 2017-18, contributing towards last year's figures, and although the pipeline across key areas of the firm is strong, it is still a challenging trading environment in all areas and the economy is wracked with uncertainty."

Miller added that the professional services firm is "cautiously optimistic" about the coming financial year.

In February, RPC's limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts revealed that the firm took out bank loans worth more than £5m during the 2016-17 financial year to help fund its loss-making consulting business.

Two of the loans, worth a combined £5.3m at year-end and fully repayable by 2021, were used "for the purpose of funding the investment in and development of RPC Consulting". These included costs relating to its 2015 acquisition of UK software business Marriott Sinclair, according to the accounts.

RPC Consulting – which launched in February 2015 – generated turnover of £4m in 2017, up from £1m the previous year, but made an operating loss of £2.3m, according to separately filed accounts. In 2015-16, the business generated a loss of £2.6m.

Following the collapse of major client Carillion earlier this year, the firm was forced to undergo a redundancy consultation in its construction and projects practice, which affected a small number of lawyers. The consultation came as a direct effect of work lost due to the construction giant's administration.