Field Fisher Waterhouse's turnover increases to £88 million

Field Fisher Waterhouse smashes financial targets and announces ambitious new growth strategy

Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP announces today (19th May 2008) its results for the financial year ending 30th April 2008. The firm’s turnover has increased to £88 million, smashing targets set back in 2004 and demonstrating 30% growth on last year’s turnover of £67.7 million.

In November 2004, Field Fisher Waterhouse agreed an ambitious growth strategy which set a target to increase turnover over three years, from £47 million then to £75 million by 2008. The 07/08 figures exceed that target by £13 million.

Although a final figure for profits per equity partner (PEP) will not be available until early August, the firm expects average PEP to be more than £750K – representing an increase of at least 27.3% on last year’s PEP of £589K.

The figures comprise turnover and profits for both the UK and Brussels offices. The Brussels office has exceeded its targets, achieving a turnover figure of 6.1 million Euros. The office opened in April last year with three partners and has since grown rapidly. It now has nine partners and 22 solicitors, with a number of lateral hires including a three partner regulatory team who joined in October from McKenna, Long & Aldridge.

The last financial year has seen the firm open an office in Paris as part of its successful new European strategy announced in April 2007, as well as growing its Hamburg and Brussels offices substantially, with laterals across all of the firm’s offices totalling 15 since May last year. The most recent arrivals in the UK are Hamish Sandison, technology partner and former Non-Executive Chairman at Bird & Bird and Chris Wormald, formerly head of franchising at Eversheds.

Following on from this success the firm has now agreed ambitious new targets, aiming to more than double fee revenue to £200 million by 2012.

Field Fisher Waterhouse plans to meet these new targets through growth in both the UK and its European offices. At the same time the firm will continue its international focus, developing new business in the US, China, India, Japan and the CIS and growing its client base of businesses investing in Europe. 40% of the firm’s revenue comes from international work and the aim is to increase this to 50% by 2012.

There will continue to be a strong focus on client service, profitability and financial discipline, and attracting and retaining talented employees. The firm already has European client teams, European industry sector groups and a number of project teams working on delivering all aspects of the new strategy.

Moira Gilmour, Managing Partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse, said: “We have beaten the targets we set ourselves back in 2004 by a substantial margin. This was through a combination of high performance across all practice areas, key lateral hires and the success of our new European strategy. We are now looking to build on this, so that by 2012 we are a fully integrated European law firm delivering excellent service to clients within Europe and around the world. If we meet our objectives we should be positioned in the top 25 law firms by turnover in the UK and top 15 by profitability.”