Ashurst’s profit per equity partner (PEP) dropped 19 per cent in 2015/16, from £747,000 to £603,000.
Revenue also saw a sharp decline of nearly 10 per cent from £561m to £505m on a sterling basis, the firm’s annual results show.
New managing partner Paul Jenkins said the firm’s financials were affected by “a weakening against the pound sterling of key currencies that are a significant part of our business”, while the “negative impact” of forex reduced revenue by 5 per cent.
The results mark the second year in a row in which PEP has declined at Ashurst. PEP dipped nearly 4 per cent over 2014/15, while turnover rose by a mere £3m.
“We’re not where we want to be,” chairman Ben Tidswell told The Lawyer.
“We set out with quite an ambitious plan and the market was unfriendly to us in terms of the slowdown in China and in the oil and gas sectors.”
On a currency adjusted basis, the firm said revenue dropped 5 per cent from £533m to £505m, while PEP fell 15.7 per cent from £716,000 to £603,000 over the last financial year.
Investments undertaken by Ashurst in the last financial year include innovation projects such as Ashurst Advance, as well as client investment through secondments and tactical pricing.
The investments are understood to have hampered Ashurst’s overall growth last year, although it did report good figures across Asia and continental Europe, particularly in Hong Kong and Paris.
Revenue from within the firm’s financial services groups also increased after being highlighted as one of the key areas to focus on in its strategic review last year.
Tidswell said “refreshing the management” of the firm has “made it feel quite different” and could have a positive impact on growth over the next few years. Ashurst’s board appointed Sydney-based Paul Jenkins as managing partner in April, while the firm also announced a new management structure last month.
“We’re not necessarily going to make more investments but we want to make the business work as a network,” Tidswell added. “We give partners a sustainable platform to work from and we want to maximise the efficiency of our business.”
Key mandates handled by Ashurst over 2015/16 including the Thames Tideway Tunnel and Gala Coral’s merger with Ladbrokes. It additionally won roles on Coca-Cola Enterprises’ and Nomura’s panel, as well as played a major role in £1.6bn professional negligence claim between PwC and Cattles.