Partners at silver circle firm Ashurst are toasting a bumper year following an upturn in trading performance.

In the year ended 30 April, average profit per equity partner stood at £672,000, an 11% rise on last year. In the year ended April 2016 PEP stood at £603,000, a 19% fall on the previous 12 months.

Income climbed by 7% to £541m, a 7% rise on 2016.

Last year, Paul Jenkins, the firm’s managing partner, said that market conditions remained more challenging than the firm anticipated.

The firm declined to reveal its profit.

Speaking about today’s reuslts Jenkins said: ‘We have seen a strong performance globally, with increased revenue and profitability. This is a pleasing result in context of the economic and political uncertainty in many of the markets in which we operate.

‘We have also continued to invest in the business, making a number of strategic lateral hires and promoting 19 new partners from our associate team. And we have successfully rolled out our new practice management system.’