Murgitroyd sees rise in profits amid Brexit confidence

Murgitroyd, a global intellectual property attorney firm headquartered in Glasgow, has reported a seven per cent increase in underlying profits to £4.1 million.

The firm had record year-on-year cash balances of just over £3m, with directors recommending a total dividend of 21p, up 24 per cent on the previous year.

Chief executive Keith Young said that because the firm has offices throughout the EU, its ability service clients will not be hampered by Brexit:

He told The Herald: “We have got mainland European offices in Milan, Helsinki, Nice and Munich. We’ve also got a well-established office in Dublin.

“So, in what you might call the Eurozone continuing, we are well-established therefore post-Brexit.

“Though there are many unknowns about it, we feel a real competitive advantage through that established office network.”

He also said he did not think the uncertainty that Brexit produced was having an effect on trademark and patent applications in Scotland.

Mr Young said: “Innovation continues, and at individual client level there are many factors that determine investment decisions.

“People just accept there is an element of uncertainty.”

On a reported basis, profits dropped six per cent to £3.6m, which the firm attributed to an exceptional provision of £408,000 for an unnamed client, which it has “formally confirmed its intention to settle […] in full”.

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