Norton Rose Fulbright's (NRF's) Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific business has posted what it characterised as a strong financial performance for its latest financial year, marking its seventh consecutive year of growth.
Reported turnover increased 25% to £763.5m, following the integration of the firm's Australia and Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) businesses last July. Profit rose 34%. On a like-for-like basis, underlying revenue in the firm's legacy EMEA business grew 12% to £681m, with profit up 20%. UK revenue, the largest part of the legacy business, grew 17%.
The firm's year-end cash position was 92% higher than a year earlier. NRF said the results reflected "continued execution" of its strategy.
"These are strong results, and they reflect genuine progress across the business," said Rod Harrington, NRF's chief operating officer for EMEAPAC.
"Our strategy is deliberately focused: we invest where we are strongest, we execute with discipline and we work as one firm across borders. The combination with Australia adds real depth to that. What I value most is the underlying performance. Double-digit organic growth in our legacy EMEA business, led by the UK, shows the strategy is delivering in its own right, before the added benefit of the Australia combination."
Harrington added the firm would continue to invest in the technology and capabilities needed to raise the quality and value of its work for clients.
"We're confident in our ability to build on this momentum," he said.
Key hires over the course of the year included a six-strong projects team in Paris from Eversheds Sutherland led by partners Sindhura Swaminathan and Olivier Le Bars and arbitration partner Duncan Bagshaw in London from Howard Kennedy, who brought expertise in energy and Africa-related disputes.
The firm also saw team exits, including a four-strong project finance team that left to join Greenberg Traurig in Dubai and a quartet of private equity and M&A lawyers that moved to Orrick in Munich, among them NRF’s German corporate, M&A and securities practice group head Michael Prüssner.
Key deals work included advising The Renewables Infrastructure Group on its merger with HICL Infrastructure to create the UK’s largest listed infrastructure investment company. It also acted as regulatory counsel to Bain and car and home insurance company esure in the latter's £1.3bn acquisition by Ageas.
Last November the firm also announced its 120-lawyer South Africa practice spin out into an independent firm, a separation that came into effect earlier this year and left it with Casablanca as its sole African location. The firm's EMEAPAC business has 28 offices across 17 countries.
NRF's global business grew revenue 16% to $2.8bn in 2025. Law.com reported profit per equity partner jumped 27% to $2m – even as total lawyer head count rose 2.3% and equity partner head count went up 1.3%.
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