LAW firm Pinsent Masons has reported a record turnover of £362.2 million helped by what it described as a "vintage" year at its Scottish practice.
That rise in turnover, a 12 per cent increase on the £323m it had reported in the prior financial year, was helped by its work on a number of high profile deals in areas including property, infrastructure and energy.
The latest results, which cover the 12 months to April 30 this year, are said to show profit per equity partner of £538,000.
That is almost 33 per cent ahead of the £405,000 which was noted for the previous 12 months.
Pinsent Masons merged with McGrigors in Scotland in 2012 in one of the biggest deals of it type seen in the UK in recent years.
Prior to the merger the combined turnover of the two firms was estimated to be around £294m.
Pinsent Masons said it had continued to expand during its most recent financial year plans to open Australian offices in Sydney and Melbourne.
There were 29 people promoted to partner, including Stacey Bairner, Alan Cassels, Craig Morrison, Victoria Miller and Gary McGovern in Scotland, taking the total number to more than 400.
The firm said in Scotland, where it employs 345 fee earning lawyers, it had acted on deals with a value of more than £5 billion during the year.
Those included major infrastructure projects such as the Forth Rail Replacement Crossing and Aberdeen West Peripheral Bypass.
Along with that it acted on the sales of Glasgow and Aberdeen airports as well as the sales of shopping centres The Overgate in Dundee, The Centre in Livingston and the EK at East Kilbride.
Ewan Alexander, a partner and head of the Edinburgh office, said: "It's been a vintage year for us in Scotland with Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh all reporting good activity levels.
"Our practice areas have all done well. There has been good growth in infrastructure, financial services, energy, manufacturing and technology which are all areas we specialise in."
Mr Alexander also pointed out solicitors based in Scotland are increasingly able to work further afield.
He said: "The corporate, banking, employment, projects can operate UK-wide and sometimes beyond so we are getting good stuff in Scotland but also getting involved in stuff beyond that."
While Mr Alexander admitted the oil and gas market has "definitely slowed" as a result of falls in the price of Brent crude he said the energy practice, which also covers renewable, had remained a strong performer.
The firm hired Bruce Craig, former managing partner of Mackinnons, to head its litigation practice in Aberdeen during the year and also added oil and gas projects specialist Paul McGoldrick to its London team.
Mr Alexander indicated further lateral hires are a possibility and said: "We are always looking for opportunities to grow the business profitably so I would never rule that out."
According to Mr Alexander activity levels in the first few months of the new financial year had continued to be good.
He said: "I am optimistic across the board. We are planning for growth in all areas."
Mr Alexander did concede that the referendum on whether the UK stays in the European Union may lead to a dampening of corporate activity.
He said: "There is always the possibility that people may draw breathe as a result of the European referendum.
"I think it is too early to tell whether it will have a significant impact but it is possible and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise."
The online compliance product Cerico, run through a joint venture with Glasgow IT firm Campbell Nash, was said to have seen strong sales in the year recently finished.
John Cleland, Scottish born managing partner at the firm, said: "It has been a positive year in which we have reaped the rewards of several significant investments we have made over a number of years.
"The McGrigors merger, new offices in Paris, Munich and Istanbul, and significant lateral hires into Asia and the Middle East have all played their part.
"This has been an 'investment-lite' year by our own recent standards, and I would anticipate that over the next year we will make more investments than we did in the last."
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