National firm Irwin Mitchell has said a fall in underlying profit in the last year will be a temporary blip ahead of future growth.

The firm reported today that pre-tax profit from trading activities in the year to 30 April was £16.5 million, compared with £22.4m in the previous year. This reflected planned significant one-off investments in technology, the increase in national insurance contributions and several office moves across locations including London, Brighton, Liverpool, Cardiff and Nottingham.

Revenue across the group increased by 6.4% to £337.5m.

Irwin Mitchell has also changed its focus in the last year towards higher value complex work, with international revenue more than doubling to £35.4m.

Craig Marshall, group chief executive, said: ‘This has been an important year for Irwin Mitchell. We have continued to grow revenue while making disciplined long-term strategic decisions to strengthen our business, invest in our people and infrastructure, and focus on the areas where we can make the biggest difference for our clients. 

‘We remain a diverse legal business serving individuals and businesses across the UK and globally, but with a clearer focus on complex, specialist advice. The progress we have made this year reflects the strategic direction of travel we have set over recent years and gives us a strong platform for sustainable growth in the years ahead.’

During the year, Irwin Mitchell promoted 100 staff to associate, legal director and partner roles. It has placed greater emphasis on complex estate planning and advice for high-net-worth clients, with plans announced earlier this year to close its high volume wills division.

Irwin Mitchell has a corporate structure and, unlike traditional partnerships, its profit before tax figure is after all partner remuneration.