A&O Posts 5% Rise as Magic Circle Firm Revenues Align
A&O, Clifford Chance and Linklaters now all have almost identical revenue numbers.
July 11, 2019 at 09:56 AM
3 minute read
Allen & Overy grew its top line by 5% to hit £1.627 billion ($2 billion) for the 2018-19 financial year, meaning three of the Magic Circle firms' revenues are now almost identical.
A&O added £75 million ($94 million) to its revenues in spite of what managing partner Andrew Ballheimer called "an uncertain geopolitical environment". Profits before tax increased by 8% to £708 million ($887 million).
The results put A&O's revenues on a par with fellow Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance, which reported turnover of £1.69 billion ($2.1 billion), and Linklaters, which recorded revenues of £1.63 billion ($2 billion). Freshfields' turnover is slightly lower, at £1.47 billion ($1.8 billion).
A&O's profit per equity partner increased by 1% for the financial year to reach £1.66 million. The figure has jumped around in recent years. Last year, the firm measured an 8% uptick in PEP, but in the previous financial year, the figure had rocketed by 26% and the year before that had dropped by 0.8%.
Ballheimer said in a statement that the firm's growth was the result of its "long-term international investment strategy".
He added: "As we move forward in a volatile market, our focus remains on leading the industry in evolving new ways of supporting our clients and introducing cutting-edge technologies, alongside building the culture of A&O to enable all our people to achieve their best."
The financials come as the firm's merger talks with U.S. firm O'Melveny & Myers edge towards their final stage. O'Melveny's revenues for the most recent financial year stood at $800 million while its profit per equity partner stood at $2.262 million (£1.8 million).
Key mandates for A&O during the financial year included advising Virgin Money on its £4.4 billion ($5.5 billion) merger with CYBG; Marks and Spencer on its £750 million ($940 million) food delivery joint venture with digital grocer Ocado; and acting for the mandated lead arrangers on the €3.95 billion ($4.4 billion) senior term loan financing and €1.1 billion ($1.24 billion) high yield financing for KKR's acquisition of Unilever's baking, cooking and spreads business.
Earlier this year, A&O announced its intentions to shut its Qatar office following a review of its operations in the country.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllLinklaters Sees Latest Partner Exit as UK Leveraged Finance Partner Walks To Simpson Thacher
2 minute readEx-Dewey & LeBoeuf Banking Lawyer on Trial in Germany’s Cum-Ex Tax Scandal
DLA Piper & Hogan Lovells Expand German Construction and Property Practices
2 minute readWhite & Case, Cleary Among Firms Gearing Up for Biggest London IPO Since 2022
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Litigators of the Week: A Trade Secret Win at the ITC for Viking Over Promising Potential Liver Drug
- 2Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
- 3'The Show Must Go On': Solo-GC-of-Year Kevin Colby Pulls Off Perpetual Juggling Act
- 4Legal Speak at General Counsel Conference East 2024: Match Group's Katie Dugan & Herrick's Carol Goodman
- 5Legal Speak at General Counsel Conference East 2024: Eric Wall, Executive VP, Syllo
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250