Scottish law firm Burness Paull has reported a solid year of trading and said it is seeing the benefits of a refined three-year strategy.
Turnover for the year to the end of March came in at £93.5m against £60.1m for the shortened eight-month reporting period in 2023/24.
It was decided to change the year-end following HMRC’s basis period reforms and to align with market norms. Profit was £35.9m (2023/24: £24.3m).
During the year there was a change of leadership at the firm that saw Mark Ellis become managing partner.
There were four lateral partner hires to extend and strengthen service lines and a dedicated US corporate immigration offering was established.
Promotions included five new partners as the firm prepares for further expansion in key areas and continues to invest in developing homegrown talent.
The firm recently announced the appointment of Noel Jordan as its first chief operating officer. Mr Jordan, previously chief technology officer at Ashurst and IT director at GE Capital International, will sit on the operations board with responsibility for the firm’s business services and legal operations functions.
Notable client mandates for the year inluded advising AIM-quoted i3 Energy on its takeover by Gran Tierra Energy in a deal valued at £174m. It also advised Dobbies Garden Centres on Scotland’s first contentious restructuring plan, the Spence family on the sale of Aberdeen’s Marcliffe Hotel to Balmoral Group, and the Scottish Football Association on the sale of UK and international broadcasting rights.
Peter Lawson, chair, said it had been a “solid year of trading saw growth across all key practice areas”, adding: “We are already seeing the benefits of the new strategy through a strong start to the current financial year, which has seen us win instructions from across Scotland, the UK and internationally.
“It remains a dynamic business environment characterised by increased levels of investor confidence and transactional activity due to falling interest rates, paired with caution around cost pressures and volatility in global trade policy.”
source