Stephenson Harwood has posted record results for 2024/25, with revenue surging to £309m – a 17% increase on the previous year.

PEP reached £1m for the first time, up 29% on last year’s £775,000, while net profit rose 33% to £120m, up from £90m in FY23/24.

The results mark a major milestone in the five-year strategy the firm launched in May 2022, which includes the goal of doubling revenue by 2027. In three years, revenue has grown by more than 50%, while PEP has risen by 46%.

CEO Eifion Morris said: “When we launched our current strategy in 2022, we knew it was ambitious. Doubling revenue within five years was no small challenge, but we’re well on our way, having achieved more than 50% growth in just three years.”

The Dubai office was singled out for achieving “exceptional growth”, while the firm has also expanded its presence in Greece, relocating its office from Piraeus to Athens in January 2025 as part of a strategy to build a full-service commercial practice.

It went on to hire shipping and trade partner Georgia Asimakopoulos from Watson Farley & Williams in March 2025.

Other lateral hires in 2025 include arbitration partner Stuart Dutson, who joined from Simmons & Simmons in London, and real estate partners Richard Hughes and Iwan Walters, as the firm continues to build out its capabilities in key practice areas. Hughes joined the firm in London from Greenberg Traurig, while Walters joined in Dubai from EY.

It promoted 12 lawyers to partner in April, marking the firm’s second-largest round of promotions

Referencing the recent transatlantic mergers that created A&O Shearman and HSF Kramer, Morris said Stephenson Harwood was positioning itself as an alternative to “emerging transatlantic behemoths” by choosing to collaborate with a network of US firms rather than merge.

“We’re focused on leveraging our strengths as a European, Middle Eastern and Asian firm,” he said, adding: “Unlike many of our competitors, we are not looking for a US merger.”

The firm also announced a £6m global bonus pool, including a 36% uplift in bonuses for fee earners. Two managing associates received bonuses exceeding 135%, reflecting a strong emphasis on client origination and commercial performance, the firm said.

On diversity, Morris acknowledged progress and challenges: “We exceeded our ethnicity targets at the partner level, and though we have fallen short of our gender targets, we have made progress towards them.”

The firm aimed to have 35% women partners by May 2025, but only managed to reach 32% by the deadline. However, it surpassed its target for 10% minority ethnic partners by 2025, reaching 13% overall, according to its Diversity Lab report.

It has also met its target for 30% minority ethnic trainees, with 10% of each intake to be Black, a goal it has achieved every year since 2021.

Morris said: “Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is deeply embedded in who we are – not a set of boxes to tick, but a thread that runs through everything we do.”

New targets include reaching 15% ethnic minority partners in the UK and 38% women partners globally by 2028.