The chairman of Howes Percival said the law firm has recorded a 12 per cent increase in turnover since the start of 2020, with profits per equity partner also up 12 per cent over the same period.
Geraint Davies, who is also a Leicester partner in the business, said turnover had increased from £23.4 million before the pandemic to £26.3 million this year. He also said the firm had taken a bigger chunk of the market share in Leicester, Northampton and its other UK office sites.
He said the last 12 months had seen Howes Percival invest in a nationwide expansion programme, with close to 100 new recruits brought in. The Leicester office, he said, opened in July 1997 in New Walk with a team of just six lawyers. Today, more than 60 of the firm’s staff are employed at the office, now on the Meridian Business Park, providing corporate and family law services.
Mr Davies said: “We are absolutely delighted with the way the firm has performed over the last couple of years.
“Like everyone, we experienced the shock waves when the pandemic struck, but we were able to adapt quickly to the new ways of working to support our clients and take advantage of the opportunities that emerged in certain sectors.
"We’ve seen very strong growth in core areas such as corporate and commercial, property, litigation, employment law and private client services.
“The pandemic presented a unique set of challenges, but the firm responded strongly.
“We made a conscious decision to carry on investing in people and technology during the pandemic, to ensure that we were in the best possible position when we came out the other side, and that is now paying dividends. We are seeing the momentum carry on and anticipate further double-digit growth in this financial year too, as a result.
“When it comes to marking 25 years of Howes Percival in Leicester, we wanted to shine a spotlight on what makes it a fantastic city to live, work and do business in.
“We saw this as an opportunity, not only to recognise our Leicester office’s achievements, but to give back something meaningful to the community.
“Our people have been integral to planning the celebrations and the whole office has come together in a true team effort to support the events taking place throughout the year.”
The firm is celebrating 25 years in the city with 25 events designed to reflect Leicester’s unique identity, with themes including arts and culture; environment; technology and innovation; education and community and sport including volunteer days and events to raise money for local charities.
The launch event took place in May when the firm’s intellectual property and IT team undertook a 25 mile walk around Rutland Water.
Other fundraising activities have seen Howes Percival’s Leicester partners taking part in a ballroom dancing competition and a cycle ride from Paris to Geneva. Still to come are a STEM event to connect schools with high performance engineering companies in Leicester and a Diwali celebration.
The money raised from fundraising activities in 2022 will support local charities, including the office’s chosen ‘Charity of the Year’, the RSPCA’s Woodside Animal Centre, which cares for mistreated, abandoned and neglected animals in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Howes Percival has offices in Cambridge, Leicester, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Norwich. It has 47 partners and 171 lawyers in total.
