Average profits per equity partner across the U.K.’s largest 50 law firms rose 7.7% in the last financial year, as inflated costs and an increased number of equity partners lessened firms’ ability to transfer a surge in revenue to the bottom line.

The average change in PEP across the firms failed to match the growth in the previous year, when it increased 18.7% in one of the largest ever rises. It was also less than the Top 50 firms’ average revenue rise of 10.9%.