Independent UK law firm Stevens & Bolton has announced its financial results for FY24/25 (subject to audit), revealing another year of double-digit growth in revenue and net profit.

Having shortened its FY23/24 financial year to 11 months to accommodate Basis Period Reform, Stevens & Bolton saw revenue increase in FY24/25 by 20% to £46.5m, and net profit increase by 24% to £19.1m. Comparing to a grossed-up 12 month position for FY23/24, revenues increased by 10%, net profit by 14%, and PEP by 7%, with an average profit share of £386,000 and top of the firm’s all-equity structure at £865,000, up from £750,000. The firm’s net profit margin also increased by nearly 2%pts to 40%.

All practice groups at the firm saw strong growth, with double digit increases across both the Corporate and Private Client sides of the business. A particularly strong performance from the M&A team accounted for 30% of the firm’s revenue in the year, with a record monthly peak in October, which saw the firm close 30 deals in 30 days, with an aggregate value of £0.75bn.

Some significant high value and complex cases for private clients and an impressive corporate client roster including the likes of Lonza, Kia Motors, Bunzl plc, Aegis London, Boundary Real Estate Partners, Diploma plc, Papa Johns, Philips, BOC Group and YLEM Energy have helped drive the organic growth of the firm this year. Its international work also goes from strength to strength, with cross-border mandates accounting for over 16% of revenue across 54 different jurisdictions.

Stevens & Bolton has also directed investment into its business improvement and people strategies through:

• Sharing its financial success by paying an all-staff profit share bonus at the maximum 3% of salary and expanding the annual discretionary bonus pool by 27% (with more people in receipt of a discretionary bonus, and a higher average value than last year).
• Launching a new all-staff performance-related bonus scheme for FY25/26 of up to 20% of salary, plus an all-staff annual profit share payout. This sits alongside a new Career Framework and record investment in training, which is continuing through FY25/26, along with wider investments in technology to support how the firm adds value to its clients.
• Promoting two lawyers to its all-equity partnership - James Floyd (M&A) and Sean Hilton (Private Client) - and a further eight lawyers to Senior or Managing Associate level.
• Recruiting two lateral partner hires to build scale and deepen expertise across its Tax team (John Forde from Fladgate) and Commercial Litigation team (Sophie Ashcroft from Browne Jacobson).
• Promoting the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, Doug Williams (who joined in early 2023 from DLA Piper) to an equity partner, underscoring the firm’s approach to non-legal business partnering.
• Providing a record number of six lawyer secondments to support our clients’ in-house legal teams.
• Expanding its trainee programme to a record intake of eleven, providing more opportunities for those starting out in their legal careers.
• Appointing its first Responsible Business Manager to lead the delivery of the firm’s ESG and DE&I strategies.
• Supporting the community by raising over £27,000 for its charity partner, contributing to the natural environment through its ‘Dig on the Mount’ project (regenerating a local endangered habitat) and providing business support to entrepreneurs at the Surrey Research Park.
• Having a gender split in its 51-strong partnership of 59:41% male to female, with recent senior promotions being 73% female.
• Continuing to invest in its business professional teams with key leadership hires, including Head of Business Development & Marketing, Darren Cleveland, and Head of People & Talent, Aaron Pendlebury.
• Continuing to position itself as a genuine alternative employer of choice to City firms for legal and business professional talent.

Commenting on the results, James Waddell, Managing Partner at Stevens & Bolton, said:

“These results are further evidence that our strategy is working. We’re continuing to thrive as a full-service independent law firm that delivers for our clients.

“The last year has seen significant geo-political and macro-economic impacts across all sectors, but our commitment to a clear vision and strong sense of identity ensures that we are well-placed to continue providing attentive and personalised support to a diverse and high-calibre client base.

“We are hugely appreciative of working with such a fantastic set of clients and referrers, as well as our people, whose commitment, enthusiasm and hard work make it all possible.”

Doug Williams, Chief Operating Officer at Stevens & Bolton, added:

“Recognising the increasing pace of change in the legal market and shifting needs of both our clients and our people, the firm has worked hard to respond – organically growing revenue 30% in the last two years. This, along with targeted investment, has strengthened the firm’s foundations and cemented its strategic approach – well-managed growth enables us to effectively pursue our independent strategy, with a focus on delivering long-term excellence for our clients and our people, while staying true to the firm’s values.

“With a largely new business leadership team now established, FY25/26 is an important year for further investment into the firm and our longer-term ambitions – evolving our operating platform so that it effectively supports the provision of services in a way that continues to be relevant and that adds value to our clients, while also providing challenging and rewarding careers for our people.”

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