Linklaters has posted drops in profit per equity partner (PEP) and profits in its results for the 2019/20 financial year, following Magic Circle rival Allen & Overy in the trend. 

Linklaters PEP fell by 5% to £1.61 million, while profits were down 3.3% on the previous year, standing at £726.9 million.

Linklaters revenue barely increased, nudging up by 0.7% to hit £1.639 billion. The firm sits just behind A&O, which earlier on Thursday announced revenue of £1.69 billion.

Linklaters latest results come after a number of bumper years, including in 2018/19 when the firm hit double-digit profit growth and PEP growth. 

Firm managing partner Gideon Moore said: "For some reason it was a slightly slower start to the year, we picked up a lot of pace and we were really quite motoring after that slowish start for no particular reason. 

"And then COVID intervened, and of course the world slowed down. A lot of our clients either stopped doing things or decided they were just going to reflect and see what the new norm may mean for them and their businesses."

Moore singled out Asia, continental Europe and the U.K. as successful growth areas, and said the firm's M&A, leveraged finance and funds teams had particularly impressive years.

Regarding the U.S. market, Moore said that the firm is "very happy" currently with its U.S. offering.

Moore added: "We've seen what Freshfields have done and saw what A&O sought to do with interest, and we are formulating our own thoughts around that space."

The year itself saw a number of significant developments for the firm. The firm promoted its largest cohort of lawyers to the partnership in April, and at the beginning of the financial year established its own flexible-lawyering service, Re:Link. 

In February, Linklaters signed the lease for a new London headquarters on Ropemaker Street. According to Moore, the firm is already assessing how it can incorporate the lessons learnt from the pandemic into the new office plan.

"Having established that people can work really very well remotely, we then need to make sure that there is a really good reason to excite them to want to spend the time commuting so that they can share space in the office in the centre of the city … But I don't think I would expect that to be on a full time basis."

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