Employees of Shepherd and Wedderburn (S&W) are toasting extra bonus payouts worth 5% of their salaries after a successful financial performance by the firm in the year to April 30.
S&W, which has 74 partners and 395 staff across offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, London and Dublin, said profits before partner distributions rose 13% to £25.3 million during the period on turnover that was up by 4% at £59.3m.
‘Exemplary resilience’
The “exceptional” bonuses to “colleagues” were in addition to sums paid out under the firm’s performance-related bonus scheme. They recognised “exemplary resilience, adaptability and commitment… during “this most challenging of years”, the firm said.
Managing partner Andrew Bain added: “The past year, which has been unprecedented, has presented many challenges for both the firm and our clients. It is heartening to see the firm perform strongly in such circumstances.
“Last year’s performance provides a strong base from which to deliver our growth strategy for the next three years, which will see us continue to invest in our people and in technology to ensure we continue to deliver high quality and innovative services to meet the ever-changing needs of our clients.”
Expansion deal
Highlights for S&W during the past year included the acquisition of a 20-strong Scottish private client team from Dentons, creating one of Scotland’s largest private wealth and tax practices.
The firm said it achieved strong revenue growth across all divisions. Its corporate finance team advised on 75 transactions, with an aggregate value of £7.1 billion, in the year to December 2020 – an increase of 18% on its total value of deals during 2019.
S&W added: “Client activity has been particularly strong in the clean energy and technology transactions, underscoring the firm’s reputation in these fast-growing and innovative sectors.”
The firm’s banking team advised on 101 deals, with a total value of £128.4bn in the last financial year – a 99% increase in value from 12 months earlier.
S&W’s activities during the latest period included acting for the Scottish Professional Football League in successfully defending the £10m claim made by Heart of Midlothian FC following the decision to end the 2019-20 football season early due to the pandemic.
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