The parent company of Shakespeare Martineau law firm has seen a 16 per cent rise in revenues – even before factoring in two recent mergers.
The Ampa group saw turnover hit a record £80.4 million for its 21/22 financial year. The Birmingham-based business includes full-service law firm Shakespeare Martineau – which has offices across the UK, including Leicester, Nottingham, Stratford and Bristol – consumer champion law firm Lime Solicitors, planning consultancy Marrons Planning, uninsured loss recovery experts Corclaim and cyber security consultancy CSS Assure. The business said profits were also up 16 per cent and was asked to provide figures.
The group said the latest two mergers will extend revenues even further. They are Sussex firm Mayo Wynne Baxter, which joined the group in May, while Bristol-based GL Law will merge into the group’s Shakespeare Martineau brand later this year. The combined group will have a turnover of more than £105 million for the next financial year.
Chief executive Sarah Walker-Smith said: “In 2020 we pressed ahead with our plans despite the uncertainty of the pandemic.
“Our house of brands portfolio provides resilience and sustainability in a volatile and uncertain economic and political landscape. We are looking to change business for good – benefitting our clients, communities and people with a collaborative and conscious approach to commercial strategy.”
The group’s businesses currently have 18 hubs across the Midlands, South, South East, South West, South Yorkshire and Scotland. In 2021, Ampa said it created more than 190 new roles, made 17 partner hires and promoted more than 30 people across legal and non-legal teams.
The group said it had made no redundancies as result of any of its mergers – remaining committed to being people-led and doing things differently from typical market consolidators.
Ms Walker-Smith said: “While we are taking our time ensuring that the practicalities of our current mergers work and that our people and clients have room to grow, we are continuing conversations with interested people who are seeking to join one of our existing brands as a ‘bolt on’ or – for bigger brands with unique geographies or different services – to join as a new ‘legal regional anchor’ or ‘other professional services’ brand.
“Our overall approach is different because we don’t combine with flailing businesses, but ones that are ambitious and looking for a fast-track to fuel growth. Culture comes first and if the main objective is to make a quick gain at others’ expense, then we know we’re not a fit.
“We don’t profess to have all the answers or that we’re perfect – instead we have a growth mind-set, we learn from mistakes, and we welcome constructive feedback. We empower our people, take accountability, stay agile and embrace new ideas, which has helped us achieve 16% largely organic growth in the year just finished.”
