Profits rise as Gordons focuses on margins and relationships

The average remuneration of partners rose from £296,000 to £303,000 in the year to March 2015.

Turnover slipped 1.8 per cent to £22.5m, while net profits increased by 5.5 per cent to £10.6m.

Paul Ayre, managing partner, said: “Through a period of change we are continuing to successfully implement a business strategy where our focus is on ensuring work is won at acceptable margins and with long-term relationships in mind.

“We secured a good number of new business wins over the course of the last financial year resulting in the further diversification of our client base, and we’ve maintained this momentum throughout the current year.

“At the same time, our emphasis on operational improvements across the firm continues to generate positive results.

“It’s a competitive environment, but we remain focused on being straightforward, building great relationships with clients and not being afraid to do things differently.

“We believe these are the foundations for long-term success.”

Gordons employs 235 people at offices in Leeds and Bradford. It has 27 partners.

Clients include Morrisons, Saint Gobain, Molson Coors and Glen Dimplex. New business wins in the last financial year include retailers Iceland and Nisa.

Mr Ayre is one of Yorkshire’s most successful lawyers. He rose from humble beginnings in Newcastle to become a major player in the UK legal sector.

It has not all been plain sailing for his firm in 2015.

In the summer, a team of private client lawyers including Frances Davies left Gordons to set up a new niche firm called Progeny Private Law.

Ms Davies is currently rowing across the Atlantic with three other working mothers.

Simon Pilling, a highly rated corporate lawyer, also left the business in the summer. He later joined rival Bond Dickinson.