White & Case grew operating profit for its UK and Africa operations by 36% in 2017, on the back of a near 16% increase in sterling revenue to £264.7m.

The US firm's latest limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts confirm that combined turnover climbed 16% from £229m for 2016 to reach £264.7m in 2017, of which almost £4.7m was generated in Africa, up 30% from £3.6m the previous year.

Combined operating profit rose to £126.6m, up from the previous year's figure of £93.2m, with profit technically available for distribution to UK and Africa partners rising by more than 40% to £116.2m, though partners are in practice paid from the firm's global profit pool.

The accounts that operating profit was boosted by a £2.7m uplift from foreign exchange due to the relatively weak pound compared with the US firm's native dollar.

Staff costs climbed marginally (2.5%) from £71.6m to £73.3m against an increase in staff numbers from 599 in 2016 to 633 in 2017 – 382 of these were fee-earners.

The average number of members grew from 127 to 139 during the same period and, as of the start of 2018, the firm had a total of 105 partners in London.

White & Case has had a presence in South Africa since 1995, when it opened a base in Johannesburg, which now has five partners. The firm also launched in Egypt in 2016.

The latest accounts come after the firm announced record global results for 2017 earlier this year, with revenue climbing 10.6% to $1.8bn (£1.4bn) in 2017, up from $1.63bn the year prior. At the time of announcing its global results, White & Case confirmed a 13% hike in sterling revenues for London to $328m.

The expansion in London comes after White & Case's New York-based chair, Hugh Verrier, told Legal Week in 2015 that the firm was seeking to significantly scale up in the US and London as part of its 2020 growth strategy.

A spokesperson for White & Case said: "As noted back in February, our 2017 UK revenue of around $328m represented around 18% of the firm's global revenue, as London again made an important contribution to the overall financial results. London's performance is clear evidence that the investments we've made over a period of years are bearing fruit."

Former London head Oliver Brettle stepped down from his role in May and was replaced in his local leadership role by capital markets partner Melissa Butler, who also leads the firm's Africa group.