Long-serving managing partner Tim Eyles (pictured) received a nice farewell gift in his last year at the helm of Taylor Wessing, as the firm posted one of the strongest financial performances in the top 25.
The tech-focused shop rode hugely on the boom in transactional activity and the high demand for GDPR advice to grow UK revenue by a solid 12% to £144.6m. Globally, Taylor Wessing – which over the last financial year moved from a looser alliance of international firms into a formal verein structure – broke the £300m barrier after hiking turnover 12% to £301.5m.
But what stood out was the growth in UK profit per equity partner (PEP), which shot up 20% to £580,000 despite the number of LLP members being only marginally down from 100 to 98.
‘Tech and life sciences were very much the standouts,’ says an upbeat Eyles. ‘This is the year when expertise in GDPR was much called upon. It was also an incredibly active market in real estate, litigation, private wealth, employment…’
The results come at the end of one of the most transformative years in recent history for the firm, which elected a new senior and managing partner. In December private equity specialist and former energy head Dominic FitzPatrick replaced Adam Marks as senior partner after six years.
But the biggest event was the election of litigation co-head Shane Gleghorn to replace Eyles. Gleghorn, who started his career at Baker & McKenzie and joined Taylor Wessing in 2006, saw off competition from three other candidates in May and is due to step into the role in October.
The size of the change for the firm is hard to overstate. The first managing partner to ever lead Taylor Wessing for three consecutive terms, Eyles is credited with giving it a clearer brand in the tech space while also expanding its non-IP disputes and private client offerings.
Under his watch the firm has hiked income by almost 60%, despite experiencing some ups and downs recently. Top line was up by just 4% and 2% in the two previous financial years respectively and PEP dropped 6% in 2016/17 (comparisons with PEP going further back are difficult due to the firm moving to an all-equity partner structure two years ago).
‘There is a general feeling that things will slow down. There is a lot up in the air.’
Tim Eyles, Taylor Wessing
What is more significant for Gleghorn as he prepares to take over is the feeling that the building of Taylor Wessing’s brand is still unfinished. The firm remains pitched between niche player and full-bodied institutional adviser, and compared to an Osborne Clarke or a Fieldfisher, it has not yet achieved the consistent growth of the pacesetter. Still, as Eyles prepares to move on, his tenure cannot be described as anything other than successful.
A strong rebound after a disappointing 2016/17 – how did you do it?
Tim Eyles: Despite all the doom and gloom in the media for all the reasons we know, the underlying economy is very active, particularly for firms that operate in the tech space or are moving into it. The shift we have seen over the last few years, but maybe exemplified over the last few months, is the push for high-quality work and a shift in culture so that we are sitting alongside clients as business partners.
There is a lot of caution around when we ask people if they anticipate replicating their performance next year. What’s your view?
Eyles: The financial year started incredibly well. We are definitely looking at a further period of growth. Whether it is at the same rate remains to be seen: there are a lot of factors outside our control. As we get closer to Brexit, one could anticipate a pause in the volume of activity. There is a general feeling that things will slow down. There is a lot up in the air but despite that still a lot of activity.
What do you see as your main achievements in your nine years as managing partner?
Eyles: The transformation in the quality of our talent, people and clients; the geographic coverage we have achieved across Europe and into Asia, the Middle East and the US; improving our brand so that we are much clearer about what we stand for; and the financial performance of the firm, which has given us a much bigger base for investment.
What is left to accomplish for the firm?
Eyles: The platform is great. We just have to exploit it and follow our clients as we have done in the last nine years with a focus in the growth sectors that we are already in: tech, life sciences, private wealth. The firm is well positioned to have a further strong period of growth.