Another year of record turnover at law firm

Law firm Mills & Reeve has broken through the £200 million turnover barrier for the first time after announcing 13.9% growth on the previous year. This took the firm’s turnover to a record £206.9 million for the 2025/26 financial year.

Mills & Reeve also announced an employee profit share pool of more than £3.25 million, meaning most employees will receive an award of at least £2,300. The employee profit share award directly links to the firm's financial performance and forms part of Mills & Reeve's long-standing commitment to ensuring its people share in the success they help create.

Alongside the employee profit share award, Mills & Reeve has also significantly increased investment in discretionary performance-related bonuses across the business, reflecting the firm's continued focus on recognising exceptional contribution and high performance.

The firm's latest results were delivered against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty and geopolitical disruption. Despite these challenges, Mills & Reeve continued to push ahead with its ambitious 2030 strategy, including growing international work through its M&R Global network to 30% of total revenue, building out a completely new C-suite, and continuing its Fearless Feedback client listening programme, which has now interviewed more than 5,000 clients to gain vital insights to help build long term relationships.

In the Midlands, the firm has also achieved several significant milestones and embarked on a range of exciting projects. These include:

• Continued investment in the growth of its people, with a stream of high-quality lateral hires and promotions in the region. This includes the appointment of Rachael Armstrong as partner in the private client team, Fiona Teague’s appointment as commercial partner, and the promotion to partner of Sian Jackson, who was one of 34 promotions at the firm’s Midlands office in the last financial year. Mills & Reeve also promoted eight principal associates to partners on 1 June 2026, including Birmingham-based corporate lawyer Hayley Simonds and insurance disputes lawyer Alexa Jones.
• Strengthening its position in the higher education sector, following the firm’s appointment to the multi-million-pound Nottingham Trent University legal framework. Its appointment to the three-year framework combines with the firm advising the University of Sussex on its successful appeal against a record fine form the Office for Students (OfS) for breaching freedom of speech. The high-profile case was led by Birmingham partner, Helen Tringham. 
• Announcing an exclusive partnership with the UK SCALE Centre, becoming the first Midlands-based company to join the centre’s flagship membership network, The Supply Chain Futures Forum. In partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Centre for Transport & Logistics, UK SCALE is part of the MIT Global SCALE Network - a unique international alliance advancing supply chain leadership across four continents. Mills & Reeve is working alongside academic and industry leaders to address emerging and complex supply chain challenges both in the UK and globally through exclusive research projects, events, and executive education. This includes key sectors for the Birmingham office such as technology, automotive, and Environmental, Social and Governance.
• Ongoing support in the regional community, with a strong focus on education, skills and employment through partnerships with social mobility charities IntoUniveristy and Envision, and long-term sponsorship of local schools including George Dixon Academy. Mills & Reeve has chosen Kids’ Village as its charity partner of the year and continues to support local food poverty charities including Birmingham Central Foodbank.  
• Significant investment in Small Woods Association, supporting woodland restoration and biodiversity improvement across Shropshire through social forestry programmes, native tree nursery development and Chirrup.ai biodiversity monitoring. The team also contributed regular volunteering days at various sites, helping deliver positive environmental outcomes while supporting community wellbeing, green skills development and opportunities for vulnerable service users.
• Further investment in the firm’s technology and operational capabilities. This includes AI and other technology initiatives which are already helping people work more efficiently, collaborate more effectively, and deliver even greater value for clients.

Simon Garbett, partner at Mills & Reeve in the Midlands, said: "These results demonstrate the strength of our strategy, the quality of our people and the trust our clients continue to place in us. Growing turnover by more than 11% in what remains a challenging economic environment is a significant achievement. We have continued to invest in the future of the firm while maintaining strong financial discipline and delivering outstanding service for our clients.

“One of the things that makes Mills & Reeve special is our belief that success should be shared. The award of more than £3.25 million through our employee profit share this year is testament to that commitment, helping to make sure colleagues across the business benefit directly from the firm's performance.

“Looking ahead, we’re continuing to focus on delivering our 2030 strategy through our client experience, investment in our people, technology and market-leading sector expertise, while maintaining the culture and collaborative approach that differentiate us.

"The Midlands team will play a vital role in bringing that ambition forward, as we continue to support dynamic and exciting regional businesses, whether that’s through our leading M&A team, our award-winning health and care team, or through our standout commercial, education and private client work.”