Bond Pearce (Bristol)

Our view....

From humble beginnings in Plymouth, Bond Pearce has grown to become a serious commercial contender. The Bristol office in particular has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 1998, and now has an annual turnover of around £11 million. Originally set up as a local base for the employment and insurance teams working with the Post Office, the office has grown incrementally through a series of small mergers and lateral hires. It took over Eversheds' entire Bristol property team and Cartwright's 11-partner corporate department in 2001, as well as setting up a clinical negligence team in 2004. Even during the unfavourable market conditions of 2003 and 2004 the firm managed to keep on all its trainees.

Sadly it doesn't seem to be coping quite so well with the boom. Turnover for 2005-06 was almost static, and profits per equity partner actually fell from £213,000 to £180,000. This is one of the lowest showings in the region, and under half what partners at Burges Salmon and Osborne Clarke are making. The partners are hoping that the recently-announced £3m investment in IT, the move to single-site offices in Bristol and Southampton and the new London insurance practice will soon start paying off. But when over half your income comes from litigation, it's hard to compete in a strong corporate market.

It's not that the firm suffers from a lack of quality clients - it has the likes of Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Safeway and B&Q on its books. But it does have problems attracting the real headline deals. By opening up its London office the firm hopes to channel a regular flow of high-value insurance work back to the South West. Its flagship energy department seems most likely to make the breakthrough, having recently acted for National Wind Power on securing a £400 million investment fund to develop its wind energy business.  

The firm accepts that it needs to bounce back, and claims that all departments are now growing. It's introducing a merit-based pay structure for its partners as of April 2007, so its star performers will be properly rewarded and should be unlikely to jump ship to more profitable rivals. Assistants tell us that it's a friendly office and it clearly looks after its staff, but whilst it's getting its house back in order you should take a long, hard look at local rivals before signing on the dotted line.