Strong performance at Morton Fraser

Morton Fraser recorded a strong performance last year with newly lodged accounts showing turnover, profits and cash in the bank all up.

The Edinburgh-based firm, which is reportedly in late-stage merger talks with MacRoberts, increased its bank balance by £500,000 to £1.6m - a dramatic reversal of the position in 2011 when the firm had £1.8m worth of debt.

Profit per equity partner therefore stands at £204,000, a jump from 2014/15’s figure of £187,000.

Chief executive of Morton Fraser, Chris Harte, (pictured), told The Lawyer that he was focused on improving the firm’s case management and practice management regimes.

He added that the firm was not looking for tie-ups south of the border, saying: “The Scottish market has clearly moved towards UK and international tie-ups. I can see that is a perfectly valid way of progressing but it’s not for us in the medium term.

“When we look forward we don’t see a UK merger as a medium-term strategy.”

The accounts also show turnover growth, from £18.1m in 2014/5 to £19.4m and an increase in net profit, up 8.4 per cent – from £6.4m to £7m.