Scottish independent law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn has handed out a 5% bonus to all its employees after growing net profits by 12% in the year to the end of April to £30.2m. 

Revenue at the 270-lawyer firm, which does not disclose profit per equity partner, rose 7% to £71.4m, the same rate at which it increased the previous year. Meantime the latest profit growth is a marked increase on FY23, when it inched up by 3%. 

The firm’s turnover increase was on a par with its rival Brodies, which in FY23 became the first Scottish-headquartered law firm to pass the £100m revenue mark and this year grew its top line 7.5% to £114.3m, though its profits gains were much smaller, inching up from £48.6m to £49.2m. 

Burness Paull, another of the top Scottish firms, reported turnover of £60.1m and profit of £24.3m for the eight months to the end of March after changing its year-end date, a set of results that triggered an all-staff bonus of 7.5%. 

“I am pleased we have delivered strong financial growth this year and increased revenues for the seventh consecutive year,” said Shepherd and Wedderburn’s managing partner Andrew Blain. “We have made significant investments in key sectors and practice areas, and it’s rewarding to see our strategic initiatives yielding positive results, particularly in our clean energy and real estate practices as well as our pensions and private wealth teams. We are grateful to our clients for their support and for continuing to place their trust in us.”

FY24 marked the final year of the firm’s three-year strategy, which focused on driving growth in core areas including real estate, infrastructure, corporate finance and technology and clean energy. 

Over the course of the year the firm made three lateral partner hires, adding real estate finance lawyer Sam Clarke in London from Acuity Law, energy regulatory specialist Jamie McRorie in Glasgow from the energy regulator Ofgem and employment lawyer Morag Hutchison in Edinburgh from Scottish rival Burness Paull. In addition, at the start of May the firm promoted a pair of lawyers to partner across its pensions and property and infrastructure teams in a round that also saw seven promoted to the role of legal director. 

The firm also bolstered its energy offering last week with the hire of Burges Salmon infrastructure and projects partners Craig Whelton and Claire MacLean. 

In recognition of the firm’s performance, a bonus of 5% of annual salary was paid to all employees. “We are grateful to our colleagues for their dedication to providing high-quality service to our clients,” Blain commented.

In May 2023, the firm invested in its office footprint, relocating its Edinburgh headquarters to M&G’s Haymarket Edinburgh development, which the firm said provided a flexible working environment for its staff and allowed for continued growth.

Notable deals over the past 12 months include assisting global investment firm Lone Star in the acquisition and financing of Union Square Developments, the owner of Union Square Shopping Centre in Aberdeen, for £111m. The firm also acted for The Scottish National Investment Bank on a number of equity investments and on behalf of Global Infrastructure Partners in the property aspects of the sale of a 50.1% stake in Edinburgh Airport to Vinci Airports for £1.27bn.

The firm’s private wealth and tax team also maintained its Band 1 ranking in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2023, fuelled by the 20-strong private client team it snapped up from Dentons in Glasgow back in 2021, in a move that almost doubled the size of its private client practice. 

The firm also invested in its office footprint, relocating its Edinburgh headquarters to M&G’s Haymarket Edinburgh development, which the firm said provided a flexible working environment for its staff and allows for continued growth.

Blain added: “With the recent lateral partner announcements strengthening our market-leading clean energy practice and additional investments to be unveiled in the upcoming months in key areas, we are optimistic about the future and look forward to continuing to work with our clients in the months ahead.”