Insider Media Limited

Law firm DAC Beachcroft, which has an office in Birmingham, has increased turnover by 10 per cent despite the disruption caused by its recent merger deal.

Combined revenue of £88.2m for the first six months of the financial year to 30 September is 10 per cent ahead of the two firms' turnover last year.

Beachcroft and Davies Arnold Cooper completed the merger on 28 October creating a £175m-turnover business, with 230 partners and 2,000 members of staff.

DAC Beachcroft senior partner Simon Hodson said: "This performance is laudable because of the disruption the merger caused for both firms. It is a testament to the hard work and focus everyone has had on looking after clients.

"It is, of course, only the first six months of the year and the real test is going to be maintaining that focus during the first six months of trading as DAC Beachcroft, as well as maintaining all of the necessary financial disciplines needed to ensure a successful outcome for the year as a whole."

The firm, which has UK offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport, Winchester and London, secured multimillion-pound bank funding to support the growth of the new business last month (7 November) following the merger.

The deal, which provides a combination of working capital, loans, revolving credit and corporate asset-based finance, was led by Andy Hart and Gavin Reid at Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets in Bristol. Additional financing was provided by HSBC.

DAC Beachcroft finance director Patrick Firebrace said: "The merger has given us the platform from which to build on the significant relationships we already enjoyed with insurers and reinsurers independently and to expand on the scale of our international business, particularly in Latin America."