Burness Paull —  recognised as one of Scotland’s leading deal-making legal firms —  has announced yearly turnover up to £93.5m from £60.1m in 2023/24, with profits up £35.9m, from £24.3m.

The 2023/24 year was a shortened eight-month reporting period after the firm changed its year-end following HMRC’s reforms and to align with market norms.

The results are for the year ending 31 March 2025, during which there was a change of leadership with Mark Ellis becoming managing partner. The firm, which was named UK corporate law firm of the year at the Insider Media UK Dealmakers Awards, has been an adviser on the following notable transactions.

  • AIM-listed i3 Energy on its takeover by Gran Tierra Energy in a deal valued at £174m;
  • Dobbies Garden Centres on Scotland’s first contentious restructuring plan;
  • the Spence family on the sale of Aberdeen’s Marcliffe Hotel to Balmoral Group;
  • Springfield Properties’ partnership with Barratt to deliver a new village of 3,000 homes at Durieshill on the outskirts of Stirling;
  • the Scottish Football Association on the sale of UK and international broadcasting rights; and
  • On the financing of the 1.1-gigawatt Inch Cape offshore wind farm, off the coast of East Lothian, and the 81-megawatt Pencloe onshore wind project.

Burness Paull, employing 700 people, including 95 partners, serve clients from its offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Peter Lawson, chair at Burness Paull, said: “A solid year of trading saw growth across all key practice areas, with our corporate M&A, energy, banking and funds, disputes, employment, cyber, and restructuring and insolvency teams performing particularly well.

“This is testament to the hard work of everyone right across the firm and we thank them for their commitment to ensuring our clients receive the highest quality advice.

“When Mark took over as managing partner, we initiated the most rigorous business planning exercise we have ever undertaken as a firm. The result was a refined three-year strategy beginning the 2025/26 financial year that, combined with the investments we have made in our people and infrastructure, offers us a clear roadmap for sustainable, profitable growth over the long term.

“We are already seeing the benefits of the new strategy through a strong start to the current financial year, which has seen us win instructions from across Scotland, the UK and internationally.

“It remains a dynamic business environment characterised by increased levels of investor confidence and transactional activity due to falling interest rates, paired with caution around cost pressures and volatility in global trade policy.”

During the period, the firm made four lateral partner hires including Emma Paton (planning), Claire Scott (employment), Douglas Blyth (dispute resolution) and Scott Duncan (construction and projects) – and established a US corporate immigration offering with the recruitment of Olivia McLaren,  as head of US immigration.

These appointments come on top of the appointment of  five new partners, as the firm prepares for further expansion in key areas and continues to invest in developing homegrown talent.

Burness Paull also recently announced the appointment of Noel Jordan as the firm’s first chief operating officer.  Mr Jordan was previously chief technology officer at Ashurst and IT director at GE Capital International.