Halliwells’ operating costs grew by more than a third last year, with the national firm, which is currently in the process of scaling back its London office, reporting a considerable increase in its staff costs.
The firm’s operating expenses rose by £16m to stand at £61.6m for the 2006-07 financial year, according to recent limited liability partnership filings at Companies House.
The accounts reveal much of the expenses were a result of hikes in staff costs, which grew by £9.3m to reach £32.4m after the firm took on 36% more staff over the year - partly as a result of its tie-up with Manchester’s James Chapman & Co in May 2006.
Debtors and creditors to the firm both rose markedly over the year, with the latter almost doubling. The firm ended the year owed £41m by its debtors - an increase of £11.5m - while creditors rose £12m to £24.4m.
However, the firm also saw a significant increase in operating profits, which jumped by £6.8m to £26.6m.
Partners at the firm also fared better than the previous year, with those at the top of the equity taking home £607,300 - £51,000 more than the previous year - despite the firm increasing its partner numbers by 39.
Last month Legal Week revealed that Halliwells was making redundancies in London, with a handful of job cuts also being considered across support departments in Manchester. In total there are thought to be fewer than 10 departees.