Partner profits at City firm SJ Berwin have plummeted by nearly half, with senior partner Jonathan Blake denouncing his firm’s financial results as ‘disappointing’ and ‘not acceptable’.

The firm reported a 49% fall in profits per equity partner (PEP) from £801,000 in 2007/08 to £410,000 in 2008/09. Revenues were down 14%, from £215m to £184m over the same period.

The firm said the falls were down to the impact of the credit crisis on the volume of transactional activity in its M&A, private equity and real estate markets. It said these departments ‘directly or indirectly account for more than two-thirds of our business’.

Blake said: ‘These results are disappointing. We have built a strong transactional practice in M&A, private equity and real estate accounting directly or indirectly for more than two-thirds of our business, so it is no surprise that the credit crisis has adversely impacted us.

‘We also know that these are areas that tend to lead the economy out of recession first. In addition we have been investing in the future of our business and have opened offices in Hong Kong and Dubai. The fall in revenue is significant, though when seen in context it follows several very strong years. Nevertheless these results are not acceptable for a firm with this level of ambition. Profits certainly need to rise and we’ll be focused on that over the months ahead.’