SJ Berwin has seen its half-year turnover rise by almost a quarter to reach £99m – putting the top 20 City practice on track to break the £200m mark for a full financial year for the first time. Last year SJ Berwin reported a year-end turnover of £189m.
Commenting on the firm’s performance, senior partner Jonathan Blake said: “Both
Lovells, meanwhile, reported a more modest 10 % rise to in revenues for the first half of 2007-08 after raking in £225m in fees. The results, which were announced to partners last night (5 November), represent a significant improvement on the equivalent period last year, when the City giant saw revenue increases by just 4% to £205m.
Lovells managing partner David Harris said the firm’s strong litigation and restructuring practices had performed well across the period, as had its network of international offices. He highlighted the fast start made by the firm’s new
Harris said: “We have a programme of sustained investment in strategic practice areas and markets. So far in 2007 we have recruited 22 partners to the firm into markets and practice areas where we see growth opportunities for us. An area of particular successful investment in the past few months has been our new
Last year Lovells reported a 7% increase in revenues to hit £425m.
Both firms said they had largely escaped the effects of the credit crunch, with Blake adding: “Although we obviously do some big deals, we do less of the 'mega' deals with large amounts of debt. This has cushioned us to some extent.”
The results come with a clutch of leading City firms having posted major turnover rises for the first half of the year, with Ashurst, Herbert Smith (both 25%) and Norton Rose (23%) among the strongest performers.