LAW firm Hammonds, which has around 170 staff in Manchester, announced a 25 per cent fall in profits per equity partner to £276,000 for the 12 months to April.

A year of "great challenge" saw fee income dip five per cent to £125.4m and a round of redundancies.

Managing partner Peter Crossley said the firm was positioning itself for future profits growth with investment in areas such as the public sector, employment, banking and international construction.