Turnover (£m): 20.5
RPL (£k): 178

South West firm Foot Anstey had a busy year strategically, but a quiet one financially. ­Revenue was up by just under 1 per cent to £20.5m, while average profit per equity ­partner rose above the £200,000 mark to £201,000 from the previous year’s £187,000.

As well as converting to an LLP it developed a new client relationship management system and relaunched its website. The investment was paid for through cash, with no increase in ­capital contributions or borrowings. The firm also introduced a bonus scheme for all staff, linked partly to cash collection. This helped it beat its 158 lockup target by 14 days.

Foot Anstey had a fully merit-based lockstep with two tiers: limited equity partners and ­senior equity. Limited equity partners receive fewer points than senior. In May 2011 a new layer was added in between the two tiers to give partners more flexibility in career progression.