DAC Beachcroft (DACB) has handed out £7.7m in bonuses to staff, after posting double-digit increases in profit and profit per equity partner (PEP) in 2017-18.

Profit before tax rose 21% from £39m to £47m, against an 11% rise in turnover from £207m to £230m.

The steep profit growth came alongside a 23% increase in PEP from £432,000 to £530,000, marking the first time that PEP has exceeded £500,000.

As a result of the strong growth, the firm has handed out £7.7m in bonuses – a 40% increase on the bonus pot paid out last year. Seventy percent of the firm's staff have received a bonus.

DACB also confirmed that its net debt fell for a fifth consecutive year, dropping by 26% to £14m.

Commenting on the results, David Pollitt (pictured) told Legal Week: "This has been a great year. Not only have we put in top-line growth, but we have improved our profit margin and we have also got our profit per member north of £500,000. We have also got net debt down and I don't think many other firms will be able to show double-digit revenue and profit growth while doing this.

"We attribute the success to a combination of operational efficiency being driven in our business, a focus on what we do well in the insurance, health, real estate and corporate commercial sectors, and having great teams of people. That is the reason we have decided to pay out well-deserved bonuses."

Asked to single out a particular practice in which the firm has seen substantial growth, Pollitt said the real estate practice had seen "massive growth", adding that "no practice has been compensated by others being stronger".

During the year, the firm added 30 new partners, increasing its partner count to 294, as well as hiring a chief operations officer and a head of responsible business. The firm is set to move into a new London office – the Walbrook Building near Bank station – in 2019.

DACB expanded its presence in Latin America through an association in Argentina during the course of the year, tying up with Buenos Aires firm López Saavedra & Villarroel Abogados to increase its presence to 11 separate jurisdictions in Latin America.