Speechly Bircham is trying its hand once more at finding a merger partner as the firm last month announced it is currently in talks with fellow Legal Business 100 firm Charles Russell, a deal that would place the combined firm in the top 30 of the LB100.
A joint statement released by both firms on 21 February said: ‘City law firms Charles Russell and Speechly Bircham have confirmed that they are in preliminary talks about a potential merger between their two firms.
‘Both are well-established firms with complementary practice areas in the commercial, real estate and private wealth arenas. A combination would further strengthen these core practice areas while providing a strong platform for the firms’ shared ambitions for growth in the UK and internationally.
‘We are now consulting with our partners and other key stakeholders. No further announcement will be made by either firm until those consultations are complete.’
The firms have broadly comparable financials, with top-60 firm Speechlys revealing broadly flat revenue in its limited liability partnership results in February, down 0.9% to £57m from £57.6m for the 2012/13 financial year. It also saw a 9% pre-tax profit slide to £18.4m from £20.1m. Profit per equity partner (PEP) dipped 1% to £297,000 while profit per lawyer (PPL) was up 13% to £52,000.
Top-50 firm Charles Russell, meanwhile, also posted roughly flat revenue results, up 1% to £68.9m, while PPL was up 7% to £44,000. The firm also unveiled a healthy 14% increase in PEP to £319,000.
Speechlys called off its high-profile merger bid with private client firm Withers last May after suggestions that both firms failed to garner support from the partnerships. That union would have created a 600-lawyer practice with a combined £170m turnover and elevated it into the top 25 of the LB100.