Private Wealth drives financial growth at Forsters
Forsters LLP, the leading Private Wealth and Real Estate law firm, announced today that fee income in 2018 – 2019 was up by 8% at £56.8 million and that Profit per Partner rose by 10% to £381,000.
The most significant growth has occurred within the Private Wealth team, where Forsters is widely recognised as the firm of choice in this highly unique sector.
Commenting on these results, Managing Partner, Paul Roberts said:
"Our Private Wealth practice continues to grow at a significant pace, growing by 16% last year and by over 110% since 2015. Our top ranked teams across onshore, offshore and rural property sectors all reported above budget results whilst our market-leading Family team reported outstanding growth of 26%.
Our Real Estate practice saw growth in advisory work such as Planning, Construction and in particular, property related disputes. Our core Commercial Real Estate practice has delivered solid results despite a slow down in transactional volumes and the development pipeline. We continue to advise clients on a range of high profile projects including St Giles Circus, One Crown Place and Greenwich Peninsula.
I am also delighted to report record results for our Corporate and Banking teams as a result of a growing client base, particularly in the family office and entrepreneurial space as well as work for significant clients such as Greybull Capital.
In the last 12 months we have increased the size of the partnership with the lateral hire and internal promotion of partners in Real Estate, Family, Rural Property, Corporate and Dispute Resolution taking partner numbers to 57. We are also delighted to report 100% trainee retention this year and look forward to welcoming a further 10 new trainees to the firm in September.”
For over 20 years the firm has remained focused on its core areas of expertise: Real Estate and Private Wealth. Forsters is now entering a new and dynamic phase, during which its strategy will see the firm building on its leading firm status in these core areas whilst expanding its offer in areas such as Family, Disputes and Corporate and Banking.
Looking to the year ahead, Paul Roberts continued:
"After a solid performance in 2018/2019 we look forward to the challenge of continuing to grow the business in 2019/2020. We are seeing increased activity from our real estate clients, we expect further success winning private wealth business and are excited by the opportunities for growth across other sectors. Our priorities in the year ahead will be significant investment in our people, to ensure that we are providing them with a stimulating and supportive environment so that each one of them can flourish, and in technology, so that we can continue to support our clients with the highest quality service possible.”
Forsters' financial performance was reported by Legal Business who suggest that the results "are likely to capture the attention of the rest of the City, with the firm traditionally the first to post its financial results making it something of a bellwether." Speaking with Legal Business, Paul Roberts said "Our results owe much to a very strong showing in our private wealth practice and a resilient performance from our real estate practice in a market that is nowhere near where it was a few years ago."