Dentons calls on partners for capital injection

Denton Wilde Sapte has asked its partners to put around £90,000 of capital back into the business to bolster the firm's finances during the downturn.

The cash call, which equates to £1,000 per equity point, was approved after a partnership vote at a recent conference.

A statement from the firm said: "This is a standard procedural event to help the firm in managing its costs and assets. The firm's capital had not been increased for four years and so this input was due and agreed upon by the partnership."

The news comes a few weeks after Dentons revealed its partner promotions for 2009, with the firm making up six new partners, representing a 50% drop on last year when it promoted 12.

The firm recently also asked for volunteers to defer their training contracts with the offer of £10,000 compensation. Last week Dentons said that it had received 13 volunteers to defer their start date for one year.

The UK top 50 firm has also been through a round of redundancies this year which concluded in March with the loss of 76 jobs, including 37 fee earners.

Half of the redundancies were volunteered by staff members. Three members of staff retained their jobs after agreeing to take a six-month sabbatical, while one job was saved with an agreement to take on an alternative role.