The firm — which dropped from 39th position to 46th in 2005-06 — saw its turnover this year remain static at £52.9m. Profits per equity partner (PEP) increased by 3% to £295,000.
In the previous financial year the firm’s revenue grew by just 2.1%, while PEP dropped by 3.1%.
Almost three-quarters of RPC’s practice is focused on insurance and litigation, which have seen a drop in activity. Other firms in the same sector have also suffered. These include Clyde & Co, which this year saw its PEP remain static at £500,000, and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, which saw only a 1.3% increase in turnover.
RPC chief executive Adrian Martin told Legal Week the results also reflect the firm’s decision to exit the private client and matrimonial market. “Last year we had all that activity and this year we have had none of it,” he said.
In early 2006 the family team, headed by James Stewart, and the private client team, headed by Colin Russell, joined Manches this May. The firm said that it has also had to shoulder some of the costs of last year’s move to its new
It now plans to grow its commercial practice — which currently generates slightly more than a quarter of revenue — to around 50% of its practice over the next two years.
Martin added: “Our aim is to have a steady counter-cyclical business so when litigation is quiet, commercial activity is good, and when there is a bit of a downturn, litigation is up.”
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