Disputes specialist Stewarts has posted a robust set of financial results, growing revenue 12% in the year ending 30 April 2024 to £95.2m and profit per equity partner (PEP) by 16% to £1.4m. 

Meantime net profit hit £30.4m, up 19% on the previous year. 

The numbers reverse steep declines in revenue and profit the firm reported in FY23, when turnover dropped by 25% to just over £85m and net profit and PEP both fell by more than 50% to £25.6m and £1.2m respectively. 

Stewarts noted those results followed an “extraordinary” performance in FY22 and were in line with what it refers to as its “non-linear” revenue pattern – a result of contingent fee arrangements (CFAs). Over the past five years the firm has grown revenue by 38%. 

The firm also reported its equity spread, with payouts ranging from £1.8m at the top of the ladder to £753k at the bottom. This is up from £1.7m at the top and £592k at the bottom last year. The number of equity partners increased from 21 in FY23 to 22.

“I am pleased to announce a solid set of financial results with growth in both revenue and profit as compared to the prior year,” said managing partner Stuart Dench. “As a disputes-only law firm, our revenue is non-linear, and this represents a good core income performance and is our second highest revenue year.”

Stewarts specialises in a spectrum of dispute resolution, from commercial litigation to international arbitration, managing high-stakes disputes for corporate and individual clients. The firm’s previous head of commercial disputes, Clive Zietman, stepped back from his leadership role last year ahead of his retirement in May and has been succeeded by current co-heads Lucy Ward and Mo Bhaskaran.

Despite ongoing uncertainty over litigation funding following the UK Supreme Court’s PACCAR ruling, Stewarts has invested heavily in various case types, including damages-based agreements (DBAs), on which promises for reform by the previous government have yet to be taken up by their Labour successors, and CFAs, which are more established. Both have bolstered its financial position.

Dench noted the firm’s “significant investments” in cases reflected its efforts to position itself as the leading disputes law firm by 2030. 

The firm made six lateral hires over the course of the year, including Sherina Petit, who joined as head of international arbitration from Norton Rose Fulbright in September after her predecessor, Philippa Charles, moved to Twenty Essex earlier in the year. It also promoted six to partner, five of whom were women, including commercial litigation duo Francesca Berry and Karen Hutchinson. Stewarts now employs almost 400 staff, including 85 partners.  

It also invested in a new property project in London, initiated last year, with the project to extend to Leeds this year, to develop its operational capabilities.