Macfarlanes has posted record financial results, with profit per equity partner (PEP) pushing past £3m for the first time, on the same day it unveiled its next senior partner.
Head of tax Damien Crossley will succeed Sebastian Prichard Jones in March 2026, at the end of Prichard Jones’ second three-year term leading the firm.
News of the handover comes as Macfarlanes underlines its status as an elite UK independent law firm, turnover having jumped 10.1% on an annualised basis to a new high of £371.4m.
PEP, meanwhile, rose 8% to £3.1m in the year ended 31 March 2025 – also a record high – with operating profit for the same period increasing 8.8% to £206.5m.
Prichard Jones commented: “Our transactional practices performed strongly despite a slightly muted market. The UK general election and its aftermath underpinned a standout performance from our private client and tax practices. We were fortunate that our clients remained active throughout, and I want to thank them, and our people, for delivering what turned out to be a good result for us.”
Prichard Jones, a leading private client lawyer, took over as senior partner from corporate heavyweight Charles Martin in 2020. For its next leader, the firm has turned to a tax specialist.
As well as leading the tax team for the past decade, Crossley has been heading up an initiative to improve the service it provides to private capital managers.
Prichard Jones said Crossley had led the tax team through a period of “exponential growth and impact”, adding: “I am looking forward to seeing the firm continue to fly under his leadership.”
The latest financial results follow double-digit gains for the firm across those metrics in FY24 after revenue and profits dipped in FY23 off the back of challenging market conditions across its core sectors of private equity and public M&A and a 10% growth in its equity partnership.
The firm’s latest PEP should see it stay well ahead of those of its UK Magic Circle rivals that report their numbers, with PEP at Linklaters, Clifford Chance and A&O Shearman all hovering around the £2m mark. So far Linklaters is the only one of those firms to have posted its results for FY25, with its revenue reaching a record high of £2.3bn and 15% growth in PEP to £2.2m.
That level of profitability allows the firm to dip into the market for top-level strategic partner hires in London. Last October, it recruited Victoria Hills from Freshfields to play a leading role in building up its private equity real assets team. Competition partner Foad Hoseinian joined the firm in Brussels in April from leading Swedish commercial law firm Gernandt & Danielsson.
In March, the firm announced its largest partner promotions round since 2019, making up nine, including two in its flagship corporate and M&A practice and two in its private client team.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
