Maclays merger boosts Dentons' UKMEA figures

Global legal firm Dentons has claimed a strong performance by its UK & Middle East region in the 2017-18 financial year, boosted in part by the acquisition of Scottish practice Maclay Murray & Spens.

Unaudited, headline results include revenue growth of 22% to from £166.4m to £203.1m, and profit per equity partner up 36% from £481,000 to £651,000.

Revenues from the legacy Maclay Murray & Spens offices have only been counted since completion of the merger on 1 November 2017.

The figures provided are for Dentons UK & Middle East LLP, which covers the firm's operations in Aberdeen, Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Doha, Dubai, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jeddah, London, Milton Keynes, Muscat, Riyadh and Watford, but not those in continental Europe.

Jeremy Cohen, Dentons' CEO for the region, claimed: "This is our strongest ever set of financial results, following a year of exceptional performance across all areas of the business. It is particularly pleasing to have achieved this level of revenue and profit growth during a period of intensive integration activity arising from the merger with Maclay Murray & Spens. Since joining forces halfway through the financial year our lawyers in England and Scotland have already worked together on more than 1,000 client matters.

"Overall, the bigger picture for us is that the investments we have made in the UK & Middle East over the past few years are now really starting to pay off. Even without the merger our revenues would have grown 9% last year, but it's the five-year trend that tells the real story. Since 2013-14 our revenues have increased by 39%, with PEP rising 60%, as we have successfully pursued a strategy of creating stronger ties with key clients, developing a strong value proposition, and investing to grow market share."

He added: "It's been a good year for the market generally, but the continuing economic uncertainty and volatility in the UK & Middle East is something that we're mindful of as we look ahead to the next financial year. That said, we will continue to double-down on our strategy of investing in both the quality of our practices and the efficiency of our delivery model, providing the breadth of coverage, quality and smarter resourcing that our clients increasingly demand."