Ashurst became the latest major firm to register the impact of the recession on its finances today, reporting a 7% fall in revenues to £301m for the year to April 30.

The top 10 City firm did not release information on total profits or profit per equity partner (PEP). However, Ashurst managing partner Simon Bromwich said profitability will be ‘significantly down, partly due to market conditions, but also because of the investments the firm has made in new offices in Hong Kong and the US’. PEP in 2008 hit seven figures, at £1,040,000.

Two of the firms that have released preliminary financial results so far – City firm Lovells and national firm Eversheds – reported PEP falls for 2008/09. PEP at Eversheds fell by 27%, while PEP at Lovells fell by 11% despite an 11% rise in turnover.

City firm CMS Cameron McKenna is the only firm so far to release a figure for its profits, which fell by 14% in 2008/09. CMS did not release a PEP figure.

Bromwich said: ‘This revenue result reflects the current economic climate and the last six months have been particularly tough. We remain confident about the future although we are not expecting any material improvement in activity until 2010.’