DAC Beachcroft has extended its growth streak to 11 years, posting a 6.4% revenue increase to £348.1m from last year’s £326.5m, the firm revealed in results issued today (17 July).
Profit per member, meanwhile, passed £750k for the first time, with pre-tax profit up a little over 7% to £76m. In the UK, revenue rose 6.6% to hit £313.6m, up from £294.3m.
Outgoing managing partner David Pollitt (pictured) told LB he was ‘really pleased’ with the results, adding, ‘It’s been a hard year, and everyone’s put in a real shift. None of this happens overnight, it’s down to hard work.’
Pollitt told LB that the firm had enjoyed a strong year ‘across the board’, but highlighted the employment practice as a ‘particular highlight’.
Real estate was also singled out as having had a strong year. DACB boosted its offering in the area with its March hire of partners Gerald Kelly and Jim Roberts from Macfarlanes in London, as well as its September 2024 hire of Joanne Sears from Gateley.
Pollitt said the laterals had been involved in high-profile transactional work for some of the firm’s key clients.
The last financial year also saw the firm commit to international expansion. Last May it opened an office in Peru, in September it opened a Hong Kong base, and this January it launched offices in New York and Los Angeles following the recruitment of a 30-strong group of lawyers from two local firms. The firm also signed strategic association agreements with firms in Australia and Ecuador in May and June, respectively.
Of the US move, Pollitt said: ‘We’ve landed well, and I think our plans are to expand carefully, but in key states across the US, starting in insurance, and then perhaps, over time, expanding into other sectors.’
This November, he will step down after ten years as managing partner to be succeeded by the firm’s head of insurance Helen Faulkner (pictured).
Of the change, Pollitt said: ‘I am delighted to be handing it over to Helen, who’s sat with me on exec for the last 10 years, and has been one of the key architects of the growth and success that we have achieved.’
Pollitt, who will stay on at the firm as a partner, is proud of what he has achieved during his tenure. He has overseen revenue growth throughout each of his 10 years at the top, with the firm growing 75% from £198.9m in 2015 to £348.1m in 2025.
Under his watch, the firm has also expanded its global footprint significantly, opening offices in Paris and Belfast in 2019 and Buenos Aires, Rome, and Milan in 2023, as well as its 2024-25 launches.
Of his legacy, Pollitt described a transformation of the firm: ‘I don’t think the firm is recognisable from what it was when I started. Over that time, the brand reputation, client demand, quality of clients, international reach, and culture have all evolved significantly. I mean, it’s all there now, we think. But the mix here — the blend — is really quite special. Ten years ago, the opportunities we now have available to us as a firm weren’t there.’
Faulkner delivered a succinct appraisal of Pollitt’s impact: ‘He’s given us confidence.’
She described herself as ‘keen to roll up my sleeves and get started’ with the managing partner position.
However, she clarified that she did not feel pressure to begin with all guns blazing: ‘I’m in a lovely position. I’m taking over when the firm is very strong and stable, which gives us the freedom to decide what we want to do next. I can build and develop from a solid platform. There’s no urgency for me to act immediately, so I have time to listen, reflect, and think about how to build on what we’ve already achieved.’
She continued: ‘The majority of what we’ve done internationally has been insurance-led, and I’ve been at the forefront of that. I do quite like change — not disruption, but change — as long as it’s controlled, making sure we bring our colleagues and clients along with us and listen to their needs.’
