Almost 85 per cent of revenues were generated from clients operating in the firms’ five global sectors, with the largest contributors advanced manufacturing & technology (21 per cent) and financial services (20 per cent).

Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, the firm achieved like-for-like turnover growth of seven per cent on the previous year.

The results follow a year of substantial investment at which included the opening of the firm’s first office in Africa, the appointment of six partners in Madrid, and plans to open a tech and financial services focussed practice in Dublin, complementing its existing Belfast office.

Pinsent Masons managing partner, John Cleland, said: “We remain committed to our vision of being recognised as an international market leader in our global sectors, and this has been borne out by the investments we have made and will continue to make.

“We are expanding our business to support clients not just across a wider range of geographies and legal service lines, but also across alternative forms of delivery model which provide innovative ways to address the challenges they face. That we have been able to combine that growth with improved profitability gives us significant confidence going into what is an unpredictable year.”

Standout mandates during the year have included advising AMC on a string of cinema acquisitions across Europe for c. $1.9 billion, advising Yudean Group on its $1.5bn acquisition of a joint control stake in Attarat Power Company, acting for Samsung C&T on the AUD$2bn Roy Hill Iron Ore Mining dispute, one of the largest disputes currently underway in Australia, acting on a €850m dispute between Goldman Sachs International versus NovoBanco and others, advising CFFI Ventures on its investment in the first UK clearing bank to launch in 250 years, advising Redefine Properties on a €1.2bn real estate acquisition and advising on the UK acquisition and management for Germany’s largest open ended fund Union Investment.