Member Article

Profitability improves as annual turnover stablises at Newcastle’s Ward Hadaway

Ward Hadaway, a law firm with offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, has stabilised its annual income at £33.5m following five consecutive years of revenue growth.

In the North East, the firm saw marked growth in its Litigation, Private Client and Property departments and across the firm’s three offices. Moreover, 9 out of 13 departments showed growth in the year to the end of April 2015.

A tight rein on costs reportedly helped to ensure that overall profits rose with the like-for-like profit margin rising to 30.1% and net debt falling by 7.1%.

Overall, the firm has seen its turnover grow by 20% over the last five years as it has extended its reach across the North of England.

Jamie Martin, managing partner at Ward Hadaway, said: “Competition in the legal marketplace has continued to intensify and the sector has seen significant consolidation with a series of mergers and takeovers.

“We are pleased that in such a climate, we have remained stable and increased our profit margin by reducing our costs and keeping overheads under control, whilst at the same time maintaining our investment programme.

“We are very pleased with the performance across all three offices, with a number of practice areas seeing significant growth – once again the firm’s strength as a leading law firm for contentious business in the North has been maintained with income from our Litigation department representing just short of 50% of the firm’s turnover.”

The firm recently announced the appointment of 6 new associates at its Newcastle office.

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