UK 51-100

bonus money

Shepherd & Wedderburn pays all-staff bonus as revenue rises 7 per cent

Scottish-headquartered firm Shepherd & Wedderburn posted a 7 per cent rise in total revenue for the 2023/24 financial year, with net profit reported as having risen by 12 per cent to £30.2m. In recognition of the firm’s performance, a bonus of 5 per cent of annual salary was paid to all employees. This is the […]

Jeanette Burgess

Walker Morris surpasses £70m turnover target

Leeds-based Walker Morris is eyeing up £100m turnover, as it glides past its 2024 target of £70m. The independent firm generated £74m revenue for the 2023/24 financial year (subject to a formal sign-off), representing a 10 per cent increase from the £67.5m generated the previous year. This means that Walker Morris has grown its top-line […]

The UK has three new £100m firms

An old-school Lincoln’s Inn firm with royal connections. A media-savvy employment specialist. And a full-service regional outfit with a non-lawyer CEO. The similarities aren’t immediately apparent but Farrer & Co, Lewis Silkin and Birketts all passed £100m in revenue in 2023/24, leaving rivals trailing in their wake. That’s what’s so impressive about these three firms. […]

Mid-tier firms mull additional financing ahead of HMRC tax hit

Firms across the UK legal market are contemplating the effects of taking on additional financing to insulate themselves from the worst effects of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) tax hit in January. The Lawyer understands that BDB Pitmans and Anthony Collins are just two names among the scores of firms preparing to take on additional […]

Manchester, England

There’s a gap opening in Manchester

Manchester’s legal market has been saturated for many years. Nearly 50 firms (46) in the UK200 have offices in the city with only two more specialised firms managing to successfully edge their way into the confines of the inner ring road – Lewis Silkin and Foot Anstey being the more recent newcomers to set up […]

Britain is basically like a mid-tier law firm

The country desperately needs growth, but there are a limited number of levers that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves can pull. Likewise, in the UK legal profession, mid-tier growth is hard to find and there are few options available. Listing on the stock exchange is out of fashion and getting a boost from private […]

Knights returns to merger mode to snap up West Midlands firm

Listed firm Knights has acquired the West Midlands firm Thursfields in a deal worth £12.5m as it aims to enter another period of rapid growth. Knights has been a prolific acquirer of mid-market law firms over the past decade, with Langleys (£17.7m), Shulmans (£17.6m),  Keebles (£12.6m), ASB (£12.5m) and Coffin Mew (£11.3m) among its most […]

BDB Pitmans prioritises US firms for network launch

BDB Pitmans is throwing its entire weight into finding mid-market US firms to join its soon-to-be-launched international network, Broadfield. The Lawyer understands there is space in the proposed network for multiple US firms with BDB Pitmans managing partner John Hutchinson describing the UK and US as “starting points” for its grand plan. The firm announced […]

Knights wants to rescue your firm

Few UK start-up firms have experienced the same meteoric rise as Knights. Its position as a mid-tier disruptor and consolidator has been largely unchallenged, helping it to lift revenue by a market-topping 185 per cent over the last five years. With so many sub £50m firms contending with the twin issues of a cashflow crunch […]

BDB Pitmans drops merger hunt for CMS-type network

BDB Pitmans partners have voted through proposals that will see the firm transition to a CMS-style network model, having called off merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson in 2023. The firm has signed a letter of intent with Alvarez & Marsal Legal Services (AMLS) to help internationalise the business. Both BDB Pitmans and AMLS issued […]