Independent UK law firm Stevens & Bolton LLP has today announced its financial results for 2023/2024 (subject to audit), revealing double digit growth in revenue, net profit and profit per equity partner (PEP) in the firm’s 150th anniversary year.
Having shortened its financial year to 11 months to accommodate Basis Period Reform, Stevens & Bolton saw revenue increase by 20% compared with the same period in the prior year, with net profit increasing by 36% over the same period. Grossed-up on a 12 month basis, revenue grew by 18% to £42.3m, net profit by 31% to £16.7m and PEP by 22% - with an average profit share of £360,000 and the top of the firm’s all-equity structure at £750,000. The firm’s net profit margin also increased by 4%pt to 39%.
The firm sees these results in the context of its continued commitment to being a thriving independent law firm, with lawyers and business teams collaborating in one location to make a positive difference and to deliver "Excellence beyond the City" for the firm’s clients, its people and the wider community.
Along with the contribution made by longstanding relationships with key clients like Papa John’s, Philips, Nintendo, Bunzl, Lonza, The Ardonagh Group and Samsung, Stevens & Bolton’s international approach saw cross-border work this year account for over 12% of revenue across 48 different jurisdictions.
Strong revenue growth across the firm’s business and private client offerings, and targeted investment to drive continuous business improvement, has allowed Stevens & Bolton to:
- continue to innovate in delivering services to its clients more efficiently through pricing, resourcing and document and legal process automation
- modernise its working environment and technology infrastructure to better enable a productive hybrid working model
- support its community – donating laptops to a local charity which promotes the education needs of deaf children, young people and adults worldwide; contributing to the natural environment with the firm’s engagement in its "Dig on the Mount" project (to regenerate an endangered habitat on its doorstep); and providing business support to entrepreneurs on the Surrey Research Park
- share its financial success with staff - paying out under its all-staff profit share bonus scheme at the maximum 3% of salary level and expanding the annual discretionary bonus pool by 27% (with 30% more discretionary bonus recipients than last year).
The firm has also continued to support the career ambitions of its people:
- promoting four new partners internally this year to its all-equity partnership (across real estate, private client, IP and litigation), in addition to a number of lateral partner hires over recent years - enhancing the firm’s existing capabilities and building scale and resilience across its teams
- promoting 13 lawyers to Senior or Managing Associate level
- with four of this year’s promotees having trained at the firm.
This year Managing Partner James Waddell and Senior Partner Keith Syson also welcomed Doug Williams to the senior management team – Doug joined Stevens & Bolton as Chief Operating Officer from DLA Piper (where he was previously International Head of Operations) to lead the firm’s investment in its business teams.
Commenting on the results, James Waddell, Managing Partner at Stevens & Bolton LLP, said:
“I am delighted that our results so clearly reflect the confidence placed by our clients in our talented and cohesive group of partners and lawyers.
The firm is ambitious to build on the firm’s strong foundations and committed to delivering a standout client experience and a distinctive and collaborative culture where everybody can contribute and flourish.
We see strength in our full-service legal offering, our national and international outlook and in our all-equity partnership model. I am confident that by always improving, evolving and challenging ourselves to do better, we will continue to attract and retain clients and talented people to our firm.
Thanks as ever go to our clients, to our broader referrer community and to our people, whose commitment, enthusiasm and hard work makes it possible.”
Doug Williams, Chief Operating Officer at Stevens & Bolton, added:
“While the firm has demonstrated consistent and sustainable performance, we recognise the increasing pace of change in the legal market and shifting needs of both our clients and our people and have evolved our ambition and approach to match.
This year’s step-change in performance was supported by an increased focus on business management and is underpinned by investment in our professional non-legal teams and operating platform as we look to push beyond traditional business services.”
James Waddell