Trowers & Hamlins has seen a dramatic turnaround in its non-UK financial results, with international profit climbing by 1800 per cent to £1.9m.
The increase signals the firm’s Middle East and Asia practice bouncing back from a devastating decline in 2014/15 when profit dropped 96 per cent from £1.25m to £100,000.
Non-UK turnover was up 3.4 per cent last year to £15.2m, following a drop of 7.5 per cent in the previous year to £14.7m.
At the time Trowers’ finance director David Dixon attributed the drop to “a fall in demand for core services particularly in the corporate and banking sectors” as well as a decline in oil prices.
Now senior partner Jennie Gubbins has called the previous year’s results “a blip”, adding the firm’s non-UK offices benefitted from increased investment in the real estate and litigation sectors last year.
The non-UK part of the business, which comprises offices in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Malaysia and Oman, also saw a reduction in costs due to two senior partner departures who were not replaced.
Last May former head of Bahrain construction Paula Boast returned to Charles Russell Speechlys as its Middle East construction head, while Trowers’ head of UAE Abdullah Mutawi left to join Baker Botts’ Dubai office alongside international disputes head Lucas Pitts.
Gubbins said costs were also down due to the firm’s reduced debts, adding the fluctuation could be attributed in part to Trowers’ “unique overseas profile”, which relies heavily on the Middle East energy and property markets.
Elsewhere in the world Trowers’ financial results were largely healthy. Global revenue was up almost 8 per cent to £85.6m, while UK revenue grew by 8.8 per cent to £70.5m.
However global profit stayed static at £19.5m due to a decline in UK profit, which dropped 9.2 per cent to £17.6m.
The drop in UK profit was in part due to costs related to Trowers’ merger with Devon firm Stones Solicitors last October in a continuation of its domestic push. Stones’ 90 staff including 14 partners were absorbed into Trowers, adding around £2.5m to the firm’s top line last year.
Trowers also made 11 lateral hires this year, three of which were in London, one was in the Middle East, and seven were hired across its regional UK practices, including five hires in Birmingham.
Property continued to be a major focus of the firm last year both domestically and abroad, now accounting for around 57 per cent of global revenues.
Gubbins said the firm was now expanding its litigation practice globally, adding: “This time next year our litigation numbers will be moving forward quite quickly.”
Remarking on predictions for the current financial year Gubbins said Trowers was aiming for a similar level of revenue growth and would continue to focus on growing its regional UK practices.
Trowers has scaled back some of its Middle East offering in favour of investment in its domestic business in recent years. It opened in Birmingham in 2011 to focus on the affordable housing sector; closed its Jeddah office the same year; pulled out of Riyadh after being forced to terminate its exclusive alliance in the region in 2012; and closed its Cairo office in January 2014.
The firm also turned its representative flag in the ground in Kuala Lumpur into a fully qualified office last year, becoming the first qualified foreign law firm in Malaysia last April.
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