Turnover and profits up at Anderson Strathern
Anderson Strathern has increased turnover for the year to 31 August 2017 by 2.5 per cent to £21.5 million, boosted by major client wins, panel appointments and organic growth across its private client, commercial and public sector practice groups.
Net profit grew 4% with profits per equity partner up 9 per cent.
Client wins during the year included the National Library of Scotland, Avis, Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Glasgow City Council, Taylor Wimpey, BBC Alba, Carbon Futures, Loch Lomond National Park and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
Dispute Resolution saw significant growth during the year on the back of the 2016 mergers with ADLP and Jeffrey Aitken, and the family law practice experienced healthy organic growth. Rural Land and Business saw significant growth and the firm’s award-winning Employment & Pensions team was bolstered by new revenue streams from increased tribunals as well as new streams of immigration law advice. Private Client fared well in a competitive market and Property, both Commercial Real Estate and Residential, performed well over the year.
In terms of operating highlights, Anderson Strathern launched an Advocacy and Legal Opinions Unit in April 2017, led by former Chair Robert Carr and staffed by eight Solicitor Advocates, and in October the firm launched a commercial claims company, Alba Claims. After 12 years as Chair, Robert Carr stepped down from the post in April and Bruce Farquhar took over as the new Chair.
During the year, the firm invested in its Edinburgh, Glasgow and East Lothian offices, IT projects, as well as brand, marketing and business development. In addition to promoting from within, key external hires included David Campbell as a partner in Private Client, Iain Grieve as a partner in Commercial Real Estate and Susanne Godfrey who joined as Finance Director from PwC. The firm retained its double Investor in People and Investor in Young People Gold accreditations and Dominic Scullion won Rising Star at the Scottish Legal Awards in March 2017.
Murray McCall, Anderson Strathern’s Managing Partner, said:
“By investing in our people, our brand and technology, we have built a strong platform for our next phase of growth as one of Scotland’s leading independent legal firms. We have a great team at Anderson Strathern and last year’s results are testament to our collective efforts, skills and an ability to collaborate with our client base and intermediaries to achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Bruce Farquhar, Anderson Strathern’s Chair, said:
“Anderson Strathern enters 2018 in a position of strength with pre-eminent offerings in private client, commercial and public sectors. The firm also displayed its entrepreneurial credentials in 2017 with the launch of Alba Claims and we are looking to build on these strengths in the year ahead.”
Anderson Strathern Asset Management (ASAM), the wealth management arm of Anderson Strathern, now has £250 million under management and over 400 clients. John Brett, former Head of Global Distribution at Aberdeen Asset Management, joined ASAM as Chief Executive in September 2016 and has overseen a restructuring of the business in 2017 while making a number of senior hires including from Aberdeen Asset Management and Tcam.