PEP dips by a fifth at FFW as public sector contracts

Field Fisher Waterhouse has blamed the squeeze on public sector spending and investment in the firm’s German offices for a sharp fall in profits in the year to 30 April.

Profit per equity partner dipped £100,000 on 2010/11, from £510,000 to £410,000, on revenues which rose 4% from £94m to £97.5m. One-fifth of revenues came from the firm’s overseas offices.

Matthew Lohn, managing partner, commented: ‘In the UK the firm has been affected by the squeeze on the public sector, an area that in past years has contributed significantly to revenue in some of our practice areas. The investment in rebalancing the business in response to this, along with investment in our German offices, is reflected in the fall in profits the firm has seen this year.

‘I am, however, encouraged by the rise in turnover and in particular the increase in revenue from our offices outside the UK which we are continuing to build further with a focus on our key sectors. Across the board we are bringing in quality instructions from private sector clients with practice areas such as IP, Technology, Funds and Banking & Finance in particular seeing encouraging growth. The firm has a sound platform for future expansion and increasing profitability.’

Lohn was elected managing partner last October 2011 with a brief to continue the firm's strategy of growth in highly regulated sectors and those driven by IP and technology. He has implemented a new governance framework which took effect on 1 May. The firm is now run by an executive committee appointed by Lohn and overseen by a supervisory board acting on behalf of the partnership.

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