LAW firm Pinsent Masons has reported a 4.6 per cent rise in turnover after seeing solid growth in the UK and overseas.

The firm merged with McGrigors in May 2012 in what was at the time the largest tie-up between a Scottish and English firm in living memory,

Releasing its unaudited figures for the 12 months to April 30, 2014, Pinsent Masons said turnover came in at £323 million, which was up from £309m. Prior to the merger the combined turnover of Pinsent Masons and McGrigors was put at around £294m.

Speaking yesterday David Ryan, managing partner at the firm, said there had been strong performances in areas including banking and finance, real estate and projects. The projects team were said to have done particularly well in the energy sector where the firm has a strong presence in the Aberdeen oil and gas market.

Outside the UK the firm's international network made a significant contribution with operations in Germany and the Middle East among the strongest contributors.

Profit per equity partner was said to have increased by 4.5 per cent from £387,000 to £405,000. The firm styles itself as Scotland's largest legal employer with around 540 staff across offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Kirk Murdoch, chairman for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said energy and infrastructure had been strong in Scotland with clients wins such as oil major Statoil and work on the new Forth Crossing and Aberdeen bypass among the highlights.

Mr Murdoch said: "All areas have responded well to the merger and we seem much more mature and settled now, two years on.

"We are busy in the North Sea and also on the renewables side of energy too. There is also more corporate activity in those areas too."

Mr Murdoch said the firm's final quarter of its financial year had been its strongest and that momentum had carried into the current trading year and he was confident of hitting modest growth targets.

Mr Ryan added: "The extended period of investment we've made in the firm through merger, office openings and continued lateral hiring for our long-term benefit, has put the firm in a strong position to capitalise on opportunity in the marketplace."