National firm Weightmans closes in on £100m turnover

National law firm Weightmans increased turnover for the 2017/18 financial year to £97.1m and also saw gross profit rise by 5.3%.

The firm said it had invested heavily over the 12 months in its offices, technology and people “in order to be in the strongest possible position for the future”. Thirteen new partners joined over the year.

Weightmans has consolidated three offices in the South East and two in Manchester into new London and Manchester bases.

It reconfigured its lease and footprint for its Birmingham office at St Philips Point, which also saw the roll out of new tech and the introduction of ‘agile working’ following successful pilots in Manchester, London and Leicester.

Managing Partner John Schorah said: "I am proud of all we have achieved in the last twelve months and most of all I am proud of our people, who have not just embraced change but have been the catalysts in our transformation.

"Whether investing in technology and innovation, embarking on ambitious recruitment drives or moving into premises that will evolve with us, ultimately we are in the strongest position we have ever been in to focus on our clients and deliver a truly commercial service which goes beyond black letter law.

"This extraordinary volume of office moves and refurbishments has been understandably costly for the business - we have had an unusually high number of lease events to contend with in the course of one year and that was always going to affect profit in the short-term.

"Our vision is to enhance our business by creating an approach which futureproofs what we do and offers a wealth of opportunity to the people who work for us. I believe we’re on the right path to realising this."