Legal Business

Irwin Mitchell axes ‘small number’ of partners following business review

Irwin Mitchell has fired a number of partners following ‘a review of the future needs’ of the firm.

According to RollOnFriday, the firm has asked at least a dozen partners across its business to leave.

Irwin Mitchell confirmed some partners were leaving but refused to disclose how many, where they were located, or what practice areas they worked in. A spokesperson claimed they were not all former partners of Thomas Eggar – a firm Irwin Mitchell acquired in 2016, however. The firm had 232 partners, including 79 equity partners, as at September last year.

The spokesperson said: ‘Following a review of the future needs of our business a very small number of partners from across our offices will be leaving Irwin Mitchell. Whilst these decisions are always difficult, it is an important part of our plan for continued profitable growth. We can’t comment further while discussions are ongoing.’

Irwin Mitchell’s results for the 2017/18 financial year showed turnover increased 3% to £241.8m, its eight consecutive year of growth, while profit before tax fell slightly to £12.1m from £12.3m. The drop in profit was said to be due to a number of one-off costs aimed at positioning the business more strongly for the future.

The firm’s revenue has increased 21% over the last five years. In 2016, profit fell 59% to £8.4m following the acquisition of Thomas Eggar. At the time, the firm said the sharp drop in profit was due to a deliberate decision to fast-track the integration of Thomas Eggar.

hamish.mcnicol@legalease.co.uk