Double-digit hike for Scots law firm Thorntons

Chairman Colin Graham and managing partner Craig Nicol. Picture: Contributed

The Tayside-headquartered firm, which has 53 partners and more than 400 staff, posted a 13.1 per cent increase in turnover to £26.9 million, with profits up 14.6 per cent.

It has gone through a series of strategic mergers across Scotland since 2014 as part of a five-year growth strategy. The firm acquired Pagan Osborne from administration in September 2017.

Thorntons said that those mergers and acquisitions had strengthened its profile, particularly its specialist teams in Fife and Edinburgh. The firm – one of the largest full-service, mid-tier players in the country – has also recently invested in a new commercial brand campaign to increase awareness of its specialisms.

Managing partner Craig Nicol said: “Our latest financial results represent our commitment to long-term investment with a clear strategy for growth across the business.

“Pagan Osborne was certainly a significant acquisition and we have made considerable headway in the transition for colleagues and clients into our business.

“We view training and people development as key to achieving our goals and with continued investment we’ve grown the headcount across our offices by 10 per cent in the past 12 months.”

He added: “We remain committed to constantly looking to improve our client service and provide our clients across all our locations with a full-service offering. Our business levels remain strong amid continued uncertainty in some of our markets.

“We are, of course, mindful of Brexit repercussions but we are confident that we have a stable platform and income mix from which to sustain our growth.

“Looking immediately ahead, we are investing in a multi-media brand campaign, including TV, across all businesses locations.”

The firm has a network of 13 offices covering Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, Angus and Perth.