Pinsent Masons has become the latest firm to post a spike in its profit per equity partner (PEP) as the firm announced a 33% jump in the last financial year.

Pinsents reported today that PEP rose to £538,000 in 2014-15, up from £405,000 in 2013-14.

Managing partner John Cleland (pictured) told Legal Week that the growth in PEP was driven by underlying profitability as opposed to a change in equity partner numbers, which "did not move materially" throughout the year.

The firm also reported a double-digit revenue increase as it hit £362.2m in 2014-15, up by 12% from £323m last year.

Cleland said around 20% of Pinsents' revenue came from work in the advanced manufacturing and technology sectors, with a further 20% coming from financial services.

Infrastructure contributed 18% of revenue, and energy work accounted for 11%.

Cleland said new offices in Paris, Munich and Istanbul in recent years; significant lateral hires into Asia and the Middle East; and the firm's 2012 merger with Scottish outfit McGrigors all contributed to the results.

The firm opened its offices in Paris and Munich in 2012, with its Istanbul opening following in 2013.

"What this demonstrates is how crucial strategic investments are to profitable growth," added Cleland. "This has been an 'investment light' year by our own recent standards. I anticipate that over the next year we will make more investments than we did in the year just passed."

Pinsents is set to launch its five-partner Australia practice on 1 July with offices in Melbourne and Sydney, but Cleland, who took over the managing partner post on 1 May, said new investments "won't end there".

He added that future investments "may well include opening further offices".

Major recent mandates the firm has picked up include acting for developer Arena Central Developments on a deal to move HSBC's UK headquarters from London to Birmingham, as well as acting for the Home Office on legal proceedings concerning the termination of a £750m IT contract.

No firm to have so far revealed their 2015 results has reported an increase in PEP of less than 10%. Berwin Leighton Paisner, Nabarro and Fieldfisher all reported rises of more than 20%, while Stephenson Harwood's PEP jumped the most, growing by 42%.