International firm HFW has become the latest commercial practice to report a big jump in profits last year. Net profits in the year to 31 March rose by 18.7% to £64.7m, the firm announced today. Revenue rose more than 13% to £225m fueled by sustained international expansion, the announcement said. 

Global senior partner Giles Kavanagh hailed 'our best-ever year financially by some distance'. It followed a disappointing set of pandemic-hit results last year, when the firm reported falls in both profits and turnover.  

In 2022/23 revenue per lawyer rose 9.1% to £455,000, the fourth consecutive year of growth. Profit per equity partner (PEP) rose 17.5% to £786,000. 

The firm said its revenue has increased by more than 60% since 2015, without any largescale combinations or mergers, while its net profit and profit per lawyer have each risen by almost 50% over the past four financial years.

London revenue increased by almost 16% in 2022/23 and the office remains a focus for investment and further growth, the firm said. However Australia and the Middle East were standout performers, with revenue increases of 24% and 32%, respectively. 

Further expansion plans include an office in Shenzhen, China. 

Jeremy Shebson, managing partner, said: 'Having decided to take a prudent approach during the pandemic, we introduced a new growth strategy at the beginning of FY23 seeking to build scale across our international network and broaden our offering to our major sector clients. We've invested a lot over the years in building an extensive international network – the aim now is to build on that strong foundation and establish HFW as the world's leading sector-focused law firm.'

 

Top-50 financial results table 2023: updated live