Revenue at Eversheds Sutherland’s international arm has edged up by 3% to £768.7m against a 6% rise in net profit in what it dubbed a “robust” set of financial results.
At £1.4m, profit per equity partner (PEP) rose by 8%, while net profit was £185.7m.
The results mark a step up on the firm’s performance in the previous year, when revenue similarly rose by 3% but net profit remained virtually flat at just over £175m and PEP inched up 1% to £1.3m.
Keith Froud, chief executive of the top 40 global firm’s international arm, noted the latest results were driven by growth across all of the firm’s regions, practice groups and sectors.
“These results build on our excellent track record, with year-on-year revenue and profit growth for the past eight years,” Froud said. “In addition, our cash reserves stand at over £125m, reflecting the firm’s ongoing focus on financial management and providing a strong platform for sustainable growth.”
The results are in line with those of several of Eversheds’ UK-based rivals, among them legacy Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), which grew revenue 4% in its final full financial year ahead of its merger to create HSF Kramer. Ashurst’s revenue growth was stronger, at 8%, though its 4% growth in PEP to £1.34m was more modest than that of some rivals, HSF having increased its PEP by 8.6% to match Eversheds at £1.4m.
Over the course of the year, Eversheds promoted 40 lawyers to partner and hired 18 lateral partners, including Robert Waterson from RPC last October as head of UK tax disputes. The firm also boosted its disputes bench with the hire of Quinn Emanuel’s former UK competition co-head Lambros Kilaniotis in London and Freshfields’ Japan head of disputes Joaquin Terceño in Tokyo.
Froud, who took over as chief executive at the start of May following an uncontested election, said Eversheds had also continued to ramp up investment in technology over the course of the year, including AI and Gen AI solutions within the business and for its clients.
“We also continue to see great interest in our Konexo technology consulting offering, which helps in-house legal teams to define and implement their own technology strategies and where we have over 50 live projects at any one time,” he added.
Standout mandates for the firm included advising Edwards Lifesciences on the $4.2bn sale of its Critical Care product group to Becton Dickinson and acting for Morrisons on its £2.5bn strategic partnership with Motor Fuel Group involving the sale of more than 300 petrol forecourts and 400 sites for ultra-rapid EV charging development.
The firm was also involved in high-profile disputes, including representing the Serious Fraud Office in its long-running and ongoing Commercial Court litigation with Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation.
“Looking ahead, we remain confident in our strategy and our ability to build on this momentum,” Froud said. “Our focus will remain firmly on delivering exceptional results for our clients, as well as investing in our talent, our market capabilities and our global platform.”
Global revenue for the 2024 calendar year at Eversheds Sutherland, which was forged in 2017 when the UK’s Eversheds merged with Atlanta, Georgia-based Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, stood at $1.63bn, up by 10.4% on the previous year.
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