UK firms look set to come under renewed pressure to boost salaries following news that US leveraged buy-out leader Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is raising its newly-qualified salaries by 10% to $160,000 (£81,000).

The firm-wide move is expected to stoke pay pressure in the US as it sets a new bar for associate pay rates at New York’s leading firms, which previously sat at $145,000 (£73,400).