Industry sector focus helps Foot Anstey post £53.5m turnover and 8% growth and firm announces Ali Allan from PwC as its new CFOO

Foot Anstey, the national law firm with locations across the south and south-west of England, continued its story of organic growth as it announced turnover for the 2021-22 financial year of £53.5m – an increase of 8% on the previous year. This is the first time the firm has achieved an annual turnover of more than £50m.

The firm's industry sector strategy continued to bear fruit with sector turnover similarly up 8% on the previous year. In particular, this increase was driven by impressive performances by Foot Anstey's Energy & Infrastructure sector (up 22%), its Islamic Finance sector (up 18%), and a strong showing from its Retail & Consumer and Developer sectors (up 12% and 11% respectively).

In addition, the firm announced it had hired Ali Allan from PwC as its new Chief Financial Operations Officer (CFOO). Allan will start in the role in September 2022 and her appointment represents the second key executive hire this year following the arrival of Felix Hebblethwaite from Linklaters in April as the firm's new Group HR Director.

Ali Allan will bring over 20 years' experience in finance and operational roles to the law firm, and her most recent role was as Finance Director for PwC Australia, responsible for the financial management of the firm's cost base and management reporting.

Martin Hirst, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey said: "The results we're releasing today illustrate the continued growth being generated by our sector focus and the outstanding work delivered by our teams. We have bold growth ambitions, and we are starting the planning for our next four-year strategic period, which we believe can fuel the firm's success for many years to come."

On Ali Allan's appointment, he said: "I am thrilled to be adding Ali to our team at Foot Anstey. It is an appointment that demonstrates the ambition we have as a firm. I believe we are putting in place an outstanding team of experts that will be pivotal in enabling the firm's growth."

Ali Allan, Foot Anstey's incoming CFOO commented: "It's exciting to be joining a law firm with such a strong reputation in its market and as it plans for its next strategic period. The board and management team invested time to ensure I was comfortable with the ethos of the firm, its direction and with whom I would be working. I'm looking forward to working with its teams to help identify where they can obtain a commercial advantage to support their growth strategies and continue in delivering excellence to the firm's clients."