Macfarlanes posted an increase in both revenue and operating profit over the past financial year, with turnover jumping 13.7% on an annualised basis to £309.1m.

Operating profit for the same period increased 23.1% to £174m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) rose 23.8% to £2.6m. That marks a return to form for the leading UK independent, after seeing revenue and profits dip in 2023 following a strong showing in 2022. Macfarlanes adjusted its financial reporting period for this year, which ran for 11 months from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2024.

The upswing follows a similar trend for UK firms that have reported results for the financial year ending in March or April 2024, with several firms seeing double-digit improvements in revenue and profits despite the tougher operating conditions over the past year.

Sebastian Prichard Jones, Macfarlanes senior partner, said: “We were fortunate that our mix of practices saw high demand in 2023/24 in a challenging economic environment. We saw particularly strong performances from our transactional practices, especially with clients operating in the financial services space. Our ability to operate in the overlap between entrepreneurs and their businesses stood us in good stead.”

He added that the firm’s litigation and investigations practice – which has doubled in size over the past decade – enjoyed a record year, while its private client and tax practices also saw a significant pick up in demand, something he expects will continue.

Last month, Macfarlanes said it had upped pay for its newly-qualified lawyers to £140k from £115k, at the time making it the highest-paying UK firm after the majority of its Magic Circle rivals. The raises extended to its trainees, who will now see pay increase to £56k in year one and £61k in year two. The firm said it had offered NQ positions to 27 of its 32 trainees. The NQ salary rises came into effect at the start of July, though increased pay for trainees only comes into effect from September.

The firm made up six to partner in its latest promotions round back in March, a slightly smaller cohort than recent years. Two of the promotions were female – M&A lawyer Felicity Powell and financial services disputes specialist Laura Bridgewater – taking its overall female partner rate up to 24%. The promotions took effect from 1 April.

The firm added that future financial years will run from 1 April to 31 March.