Macfarlanes paid out £3.8m to its top earner during the last financial year, the firm's limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts have revealed.

The figure – which represents a 90% increase on 2016-17, when the firm's top earner received £2m – included "payments on retirement", according to the filing, which also states that the partner was not a member of the firm's key management team.

The filing also shows Macfarlanes increased its total staff headcount to 585 during the year, up from 560, with its staff costs rising 12% as a result from £53m to £59m.

The firm had an average of 86 partners during the course of the year, an increase of two.

Macfarlanes brought in revenue of £201.56m during 2017-18, up 20% from £167.6m in 2016-17, with PEP leaping 25.6% to £1.74m from £1.39m. Operating profit climbed just under 25% to £107m.

Standout corporate mandates during 2017-18 included advising Disney on UK aspects of its $71bn purchase of 21st Century Fox assets, as well as acting for US car parts manufacturer Dana on its $6.1bn combination with FTSE 100 engineering business GKN.

Macfarlanes saw a rare partner exit during the last financial year when investment fund finance head Bronwen Jones left to join Reed Smith's London office in February; however, the firm launched a white-collar practice with the hire of Eversheds corporate crime head Neill Blundell the following month.

It also hired Norton Rose Fulbright global and European head of technology and innovation Mike Rebeiro at the start of 2018.