Addleshaw Goddard: Legal giant with 300 Scottish staff sees revenues jump 11%

The international firm, which has more than 300 people working across its three Scottish offices, said total revenues grew by 11 per cent to £550.9 million in the 12 months to the end of April, compared with the year before. Profits were up about 6 per cent, from £210.5m to £224.1m, while the global headcount grew by a similar percentage to 2,952.

Revenues at the Scottish arm, which encompasses offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, rose by 12 per cent, marking the eighth consecutive year of double-digit growth north of the Border.

The firm said it was moving to prime locations on St Vincent Street, Glasgow, and St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, significantly increasing its footprint in each city.

Alan Shanks, head of Scotland at Addleshaw Goddard, said: “This has been another strong year for the firm internationally and our Scottish offices have contributed significantly to these results, with every practice group enjoying growth and our performance in finance, restructuring and projects and infrastructure being key drivers.

“The Scottish market is hugely important to us, and our upcoming moves in Edinburgh and Glasgow will help support our ambitious growth plans. We’ll continue with our strategy of developing our own talent as well as continuing to attract the very best people - with more lateral hires expected to join the firm in the coming months.

“We have enjoyed a strong start to the current financial year, driven by our excellent and active client base and this is an exciting period to be part of the firm,” he added. “We believe that Addleshaw Goddard offers a compelling proposition in Scotland and we look forward to continuing to do the best work for the best clients from our new state-of-the-art workplaces.”

Recent new partner hires include Anya Duncan (employment) in Aberdeen, Martin Devine (property) and Fiona Cameron (finance) in Glasgow, and Sophia Harrison (contentious insolvency) in Edinburgh.

Andrew Johnston, the firm’s managing partner, said: “It has been another strong year for AG and we are pleased with the financial results, as well as the progress that we have made in evolving the firm’s growth strategy. We performed well across our key markets, boosted by the Madrid office launch in May 2024 and our first full year of business in Riyadh.

“Our year-on-year revenue and profit growth as well as our robust cash position has allowed us to continue to invest significantly in our people, offices, and innovation, whilst enhancing the services we offer to our clients.”

Notable transactions during the year included advising Nationwide Building Society on its bumper £2.9 billion acquisition of Virgin Money, Guardian Media Group on the sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media, and Applied Nutrition on the largest consumer initial public offering (IPO) since 2021.

Earlier this month, rival multinational legal firm Pinsent Masons, which has some 550 staff north of the Border, posted a 4.7 per cent rise in revenue as it gears up to move its Glasgow base into a landmark office building.