UK-headquartered Kennedys beat its global revenue record during the past financial year, with the firm shrugging off the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic as it continues to expand its footprint around the world.

Kennedys’ global turnover hit £264m in the 12 months to the end of April, an 11% increase on the previous financial year. In Europe, revenue jumped 45% to £19m, with North America (including Bermuda) also posting double-digit growth, rising 15% to £46m. In its main UK market, revenue rose 8.5% to £151m.

Nick Thomas, global senior partner at Kennedys, said: “When we released strong financial results last year, we were only a couple of months into the pandemic. We did not know what the year ahead would hold. So, these results serve as a testament to the incredible professionalism and hard work of our teams across the world.”

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Despite the economic impact of Covid-19, the firm has continued to expand globally. It opened in San Francisco at the height of the pandemic – its first office on the US West Coast. It also debuted in Canada through its association with Canadian insurance-focused law firm Doldens, as well as in Israel after taking on the former partners of Israeli firm Zelichov Ben-Dan & Co. At the start of this year, Kennedys opened in Leeds following the arrival of a 36-strong insurance team from Langleys, and in May the firm announced plans to open its third Australian office – and 43rd globally – this time in Perth after hiring a team of insurance lawyers from Clyde & Co.

That expansion strategy has seen the firm add 25 partners over the past 12 months and increase its number of fee earners by 10%, with overall headcount now above 2,300 worldwide. 

Thomas said: “During the pandemic the board took the decision to look after our people. We were one of the few firms not to make any redundancies, reduce hours, cut pay or avail ourselves of the government’s furlough scheme.”

Earlier this month, Pinsent Masons also posted record annual revenue, smashing through the £500m barrier for the first time. Profit per equity partner rose by 16% to £636,000. Meanwhile, CMS saw global revenue increase by 3% to just under £1.5bn, with slightly more than a third of that coming from its UK business.