Gateley, the first law firm to float on the London Stock Exchange, has reported strong results for the year with pre-tax profit and earnings per share both on the up.

In preliminary results for the year ended 30 April 2018, published today, the firm said profit rose by 11.7% from £13.1m to £14.6m on turnover up 11%, to £86.1m, from £77.6m last year.

Basic earnings per share increased by 17%, from 9.43p to 11.03p.

According to the firm, operational highlights over the year included acquiring GCL Solicitors in May, adding 80 new staff, and human capital consultancy business Kiddy & Partners in July 2017.

The number of fee earners rose from 457 at 30 April last year to 509 this year, an 11.4% rise. Total staff numbers rose from 696 to 757 in the same period.

Michael Ward, chief executive, said: ‘As the first UK commercial law-led professional services group to be admitted to AIM, we are justifiably very proud of our team who continue to support our journey and help drive the business forward with such strong momentum. The board strongly believe that the time remains right for providing greater choice for our clients and investors and we therefore remain focussed on further enhancing the breadth of our offering for the benefit of all our stakeholders.’

Gateley made history when in 2015 it became the first legal firm to go public in its own right. As of today, shares are trading at 167.9p, well up from the initial public offering price of 95p.

The other firms to have listed are Keystone Law, Gordon Dadds, Rosenblatt Solicitors and, most recently, Knights.