Law firm Gillespie Macandrew unveils jump in profits

Scots law firm Gillespie Macandrew has seen profits jump by more than 18 per cent in its latest financial year, during which it broke through the £10 million fee level for the first time.

Gillespie Macandrew chairman Murray Shaw said the firm had a 'strong year'. Picture: Contributed

Profits in the 12 months to 29 February grew to £2.86m, on the back of turnover increasing by 6.7 per cent to £10.47m amid a “positive upward trend over the past four years”.

It added that particular fee income growth has come from its private client, residential, housebuilder, commercial property and litigation services, and said it has continued to focus on organic growth across its offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth, appointing three partners in the year and boosting headcount to 112 from 101.

Chairman Murray Shaw said: “We have had a strong year building on the work we did in late 2014. Profits are higher than expected through our top-line growth, while our costs didn’t grow as quickly as expected.

“While we expect the coming year to continue to be highly competitive, we are again quietly confident that we will push forward with our overall growth plan. We have improved our cash-management further though there is still more we can achieve - all of which stands us in excellent stead for the planned expansion of the business”

Chief executive Chris West added: ”We are delighted with the results, which exceeded expectations for the first year of our latest plan.”