Turnover (£m): 9.9
RPL (£k): 125

In its last full financial year before its merger with Ashton Graham, East Anglia firm Kester Cunningham John kept it steady, with turnover remaining identical to the previous year’s at £9.9m.

The firm, at which private client and personal injury (PI) accounted for 60 per cent of ­revenue, saw its profit margin rocket from 15 to 19 per cent. Average profit per equity ­partner rose from £119,000 to £145,000, but managing partner Simon Smith said the firm’s high work-in-progress total of 220 days could often skew or exaggerate overall performance.

In reality, the firm’s PI and clinical negligence teams performed strongly, while the economic climate and team changes meant its ­commercial property, corporate and family practices had a more difficult year.

Partners at Kester Cunningham and Ashton Graham, which also specialises in PI, voted to merge in April. The combination will go live on 1 October.