International law firm Addleshaw Goddard, which has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, has announced revenue of £496 million for the past financial year, representing growth of 12%.
The firm's performance was driven by material investments in tech, core practices and priority sectors alongside office openings in Germany, Middle East and Spain, to deliver another year of revenue and profit growth.
In Scotland, where is has around 300 people, Addleshaw Goddard recorded income growth of 17% over the financial year – the seventh consecutive year showing a double-digit increase - with strong performances in all three offices. The firm welcomed 12 new Partners north of the Border, including 10 lateral hires from other firms, and is currently looking at office relocations in Glasgow and Edinburgh to accommodate its growth.
Alan Shanks, Head of Scotland at Addleshaw Goddard, highlighted areas including Corporate, Real Estate, Disputes and Global Investigations as having a particularly successful year, as well as Infrastructure, Projects and Energy, where the team has added another four Partners making it the largest in Scotland.
He added: "These results mark another excellent year for Addleshaw Goddard as the firm has once again achieved significant success across all markets, with our performance in Scotland contributing strongly to that success. Our teams across the country provide services to clients locally, nationally, and globally, and are well regarded for their first-rate work in all practice areas and sector. We have ambitious plans for Scotland, where our aim is to be the leading law firm in the country while supporting the growth of Addleshaw Goddard internationally."
Commenting on the Firm's performance in the financial year ending April 2024, Andrew Johnston, Addleshaw Goddard Managing Partner, said: "These results show us continuing our positive trajectory with higher revenues, improved profitability and strong cash position. We saw growing client demand across a number of service-lines, particularly in areas we have been investing in such as Funds, Restructuring, Global Investigations and Financial Services. Our teams across the UK & Ireland, EMEA and Asia worked incredibly hard to deliver another strong year.
"AG's continued momentum and strong balance sheet places us well to invest further in key markets, practice areas and sectors globally. The diversified nature of our business, coupled with our international expansion and other strategic investments, particularly in innovation and technology, means we are better placed than ever to support and service clients wherever they are doing business."
Alan Shanks, head of Scotland at Addleshaw Goddard
Strategic progress – Key indicators for the year ended 30 April 2024
- Turnover rose to £495.6m, representing underlying growth of 12%
- UK income grew by 11%
in line with prior year
- Total profit for the financial year up 14% to £210.5million
- Closing cash position of £139.1million
- 28% income growth (in USD) in the Middle East, which opened a new office in Riyadh, AGs fourth in the region
- 24% income growth outside the Middle East and UK; France, Germany, Luxembourg, all tracking ahead of Plan; Two new partners added to Singapore - AG's Asia hub
- Two years after opening, revenue in Ireland grows by more than 30%
- Clients include 51 of the FTSE 100
- All nine core sectors continue to deliver strong, double-digit growth with Financial Services, the largest sector, contributing circa 30% of the Firm's income
- Independent recognition included winning major industry awards including Law Firm of the Year (The Lawyer 2024); ranked Most Digital Law Firm in Europe and one of the Top 10 most innovative law firms in Europe (2023 FT Innovative Lawyers Report)
- Fitout of new London office underway and on track for Spring 2025; other office relocations also progressing across UK and Ireland
- Significant investment in innovation and legal technology including the launch of AGPT, AG’s own internal, secure version of ChatGPT
During the year, the Firm acted on a range of complex, high value and strategically important assignments across nine core sectors: Manufacturing and Industrials, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Health, Real Estate, Retail & Consumer, Sport, Technology and Transport.
Highlights included:
- Nearly one third of all UK takeovers firmly announced in 2023
- ASDA: 2.3billion acquisition of EG Group's UK and Ireland fuel, foodservice, grocery and merchandise business
- Azmeel Contracting Company:
advising creditors on a unique US$2.06 billion restructuring utilising for the first time a perpetual sukuk structure
- BT: sale of London's iconic BT Tower
- Coventry Building Society:
£780m acquisition of The Co-operative Bank
- Entain: £585million Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Crown Prosecution Service
- Hallo Healthcare:
sale of 750 Lloyds Pharmacy branches
- JD Sports: $1.1billionn acquisition of US retailer, Hibbett
- Netinera: financing of 41 new Siemens electric trains supporting sustainable modes of transport in Germany
- Several high profile public inquiries:
including Covid-19, Post Office, Infected Blood and Grenfell Tower
- Unitel (Angola's largest telecoms company): £500+ million worldwide freezing order against African billionaire Isabel Dos Santos
- World Bank: funding and development of large multi-purpose dam projects in Nigeria
- Global headcount at the end of the 2023/24 financial year was 2,700
- 6% headcount growth
- Launch of the Madrid office on 20 May; added 80 colleagues
- Significant investment in people including 72 new partners: 52 laterally hired, and 20 internally promoted across key practice areas around the world
- Times Top 50 Employer for Gender Equality (15th time) and a top 75 Employer in the Social Mobility Foundation Index (now 36th, up from 70th).
- 750+ colleagues involved in DEI networks
- New signatory to UN Global Compact, aligning our work to 17 Sustainable Development Goals
- Achieved net zero in UK operations (scope 1 & 2); CarbonNeutral® certification in accordance with the Carbon Neutral Protocol for our UK operations
- New charity partnerships launched with Honeypot (supporting young carers) in the UK and Jigsaw (youth mental health) in Ireland
- 16% rise in pro bono hours; new clients include The Royal British Legion
- Supported 65 charities through financial contributions and grants, including World Central Kitchen, Trussell Trust, Disasters Emergency Committee, Médecins Sans Frontiers and British Red Cross
- Directly supported c.100 young people from socially mobile backgrounds through work experience, mentoring, bursaries and apprenticeships. Flagship social mobility programme launched – Legal Explorers - providing access to the profession.