Top 20 agent Montagu Evans’ decision last year to cut salaries meant that the firm made only 4% of its workforce redundant despite a 46% drop in profits.
Recently filed accounts for the 250strong firm reveal a 25% drop in turnover to £26.2m in the 12 months ended 31 March 2009, down from £34.9m a year earlier.
Profit available to members fell from £17.9m in 2008 to £9.7m last year.
Despite the fall in income, the percentage of turnover converted to profit remained reasonably strong at 37%.
This compares with 25%, 22% and 21% at rivals Allsop, Gerald Eve and Drivers Jonas respectively.
Profit per equity partner fell from £564,571 to £273,853 over the period, while the highest paid partner’s remuneration tumbled from £1.4m to £750,202.
However, managing partner Clive Riding said that the instigation of a 10% salary reduction last January, plus the injection of £30,000-£50,000 each from the LLP’s 20 equity partners, allowed the business to remain cash-positive throughout the year and retain the majority of its workforce.
Nine redundancies were made during the period – two support staff and seven recently qualified graduates.
Riding said that the firm was also able to use the recession to expand its agency business.
Hires during the year included City partners Martin Wallace and Simon Crotty from Colliers CRE, West End partners James Pargeter from Lewis Ellis and Rob Skiolderbrand from Jones Lang LaSalle, and residential and development agency partner Adrian Owen from Hamptons.
Riding said: “We expect the impact of the recession to continue at least into the second half of 2010, due to continued restrictions in bank lending and it being an election year. However, we are now seeing a revival of activity across the whole firm, with December 2009 being the highest billing month so far this financial year.”
He added that the group hoped to reinstate salaries after the end of its 2010 full year.
