International legal practice Osborne Clarke has announced its 2016/17 year-end financial results with income of €245.1m, a 12 per cent increase on revenues in the previous year.¹
In the UK, the firm saw an increase of seven per cent in revenue from £112.9m in 2015/16 to £121m in 2016/17. In addition to the UK revenue growth, net profit and profit per equity partner (PEP) increased five per cent and three per cent, respectively. Net profit grew from £49.8m to £52.5m in 2016/17, while PEP went from £635k to £652k in 2016/17.
Non-UK revenue now accounts for 42 per cent of total revenue.
During the last year, Osborne Clarke UK maintained its financial stability, while cash resources rose 29 per cent to £33.4m against £25.8m in 2015/16.
Investment was a key priority for Osborne Clarke and the business funded many firm-wide initiatives including service innovation projects to create bespoke cloud-based platforms that improve service delivery for a growing number of its clients.
Osborne Clarke also continued to invest in recruitment and development to support its sector-focused approach, and this year appointed 29 Partners across Europe and Asia, of whom just under a third (31 per cent) are female. The UK and Germany also made six Partner promotions.
Workplace strategy was at the top of the investment agenda and included the firm-wide roll out of agile and connected working. The connected working programme combines technology and working practices to enable lawyers to work in a way that best suits them and their clients.
Ray Berg, UK Managing Partner, Osborne Clarke commented: “We have an exceptionally well-run business with a clear strategy and many growth clients. These results reflect the high levels of dedication and commitment across our entire business and emphasise what a great team we have.”
Osborne Clarke’s sector teams account for over 95 per cent of UK revenues. The international business represents clients ranging from market leaders to fast-growth companies that include: Yahoo!, Facebook, CBRE Global Investors, Vodafone, Siemens, Grifols, Foresight Energy and GoPro. Osborne Clarke recently joined the panels for Deutsche Bank and BT.
“Our sector-first approach is working very well for us and we plan to build on our success over the coming years. Clients appreciate that we understand the challenges and opportunities they face in a fast-evolving digital world; it makes us more engaging lawyers and advisors,” Ray commented.
During the last year, the firm continued to target new international markets. It entered Mainland China with new Shanghai-based firm, Zhang Yu & Partners and launched a formal Association with new Singapore-based firm, OC Queen Street. Both of these strategic investments form part of the firm’s expansion plans in Asia, that also include an association with Koh Vass & Co in Hong Kong and a close working relationship with BTG Legal in India.
Simon Beswick, International CEO, Osborne Clarke commented: “Our expansion in Europe and Asia is driven by our vision to create a credible and highly sector-focused offering to help our clients succeed in tomorrow’s world. Our new capacity in Mainland China means we can now support our clients in each of the key business centres in Asia and it reflects our commitment to the region.”
Notes to editors:
¹Final revenue for FY2015/16 was €219.6m; consistent currency basis of Euro to GBP 1.18 applies for FY2015/16 and FY2016/17.
2016/17 Deals:
- Closed two deals for Grifols, the first was in connection with US$1.85bn financing for the acquisition of a nucleic acid testing business owned by Hologic, Inc., and the second was a US$6.3bn refinancing, which is the second largest refinancing of a Spanish company;
- Advised XC Trains, a subsidiary of Arriva on its £1.5bn Cross Country franchise;
- Acted for LDC and the Ministry of Cake on its sale to Mademoiselle Desserts;
Advised for the management team on the £930 million sale of Odeon and UCI Cinemas to AMC Theatres, the largest cinema operator in the US.
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