Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has restarted paying profit distributions to partners despite becoming the latest to post deflated financial results, with falls in profits and PEP and muted revenue growth.

The firm’s profit slipped 7.7% to £283.2 million, while profits per equity partner fell 9.7% to £857,000. The firm had grown the metric by double digit percentages in the previous two financial years.