Pinsent Masons announces FY16/17 annual results

The firm achieved global turnover of £423.1m an 11% increase on FY15/16.

Almost 85% of revenues were generated from clients operating in the firms' five global sectors; with Advanced Manufacturing & Technology (21%) and Financial Services (20%), being the largest contributors.

Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations the firm achieved like-for-like turnover growth of 7%.

The results follow a year of substantial investment at Pinsent Masons. During the past 12 months the firm has:

• Opened its first office in Africa, in Johannesburg, bringing together market-leading talent across the infrastructure sector in the region
• Appointed a team of six partners to develop the firm's Madrid practice around the global advanced manufacturing and technology, financial services and infrastructure sectors
• Announced plans to open a technology and financial services-focused practice in Dublin
• Acquired diversity & inclusion consulting company, Brook Graham, to offer clients an innovative approach to creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces
• Expanded Vario, Pinsent Masons' legal resourcing hub, into Australia as part of a long-term growth strategy
• Acquired a 20% stake in 'New Law' start-up business Yuzu, a legal sourcing proposition for business that lies between in-house, private practice and traditional managed legal service models
• Brought to market a number of innovative solutions including the firm's own proprietary Artificial Intelligence technology plus a suite of tools to help clients prepare for Brexit
• Made 16 partner promotions, in so-doing surpassing its target of achieving 25% female representation among its partnership by 2018 under the firm's 'Sky' programme

Standout mandates during the year have included advising AMC on a string of cinema acquisitions across Europe for c. $1.9bn, advising Yudean Group on its $1.5bn acquisition of a joint control stake in Attarat Power Company, acting for Samsung C&T on the AUD$2bn Roy Hill Iron Ore Mining dispute, one of the largest disputes undertaken in Australia, acting on a €850m dispute between Goldman Sachs International versus NovoBanco and others, advising CFFI Ventures on its investment in the first UK clearing bank to launch in 250 years, advising Redefine Properties on a €1.2bn real estate acquisition and advising on the UK acquisition and management for Germany's largest open ended fund Union Investment.

Pinsent Masons has also been appointed or reappointed to a number of significant panels which include AIG, Heathrow, Diageo, Capita, Dixons Carphone, Keepmoat and the Australian BMD Group.

In addition, 2016 saw the firm named as the top-ranked professional services firm in Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index and be named in The Times' Top 50 Employers for Women.

Profit per equity partner increased by 14% to £625k.

John Cleland, Managing Partner at Pinsent Masons, says:

"We remain committed to our vision of being recognised as an international market leader in our global sectors, and this has been borne out by the investments we have made and will continue to make. We are expanding our business to support clients not just across a wider range of geographies and legal service lines, but also across alternative forms of delivery model which provide innovative ways to address the challenges they face. That we have been able to combine that growth with improved profitability gives us significant confidence going into what is an unpredictable year."