Ashurst LLPs: staff costs rise £5m as top earner takes home £1.05m

Ashurst saw a £5m increase in staff costs during 2010-11 against a 2% drop in staff count, according to the firm's limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts.

The accounts, recently filed on Companies House, show staff costs rose to £127.8m last year, up from £122.3m in 2009-10. Over the same period, total legal and support staff headcount fell from 1,634 to 1,602.

The firm attributed the increase in staff costs to a rise in the number of partners outside the UK treated as salaried partners under the LLP for accountancy reasons.

The accounts also reveal that the firm's best-paid partner received £1.05m in 2010-11, 2% lower than the previous year, when the top pay-out was £1.07m.

Other details included in the LLP filings show profit available for distribution among members increased 3% to £97.3m in 2010-11, up from £94.7m, while net funds at the firm also grew from £23.8m in 2009-10 to £34.5m last year.

Ashurst has an advance facility and overdraft facility due to expire in September 2014, around the time the firm plans to enter into a full merger with Australia's Blake Dawson; however, the firm said that this is coincidental.

The firm saw turnover increase 3.6% in 2010-11 to £301m, up from £291m the previous year, while profits per equity partner grew 5% to £723,000.

Ashurst finance director Nigel Morland said: "Last year's results were very solid and we are currently slightly ahead of budget, which is an increase on last year and a positive sign that we hope will continue to the end of the year."

By Suzi Ring