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CMS announces global revenues of € 1.426bn in 2019

14/07/2020

CMS announces global revenues of € 1.426bn

  • Significant investments include Lupl, an open industry platform, which has the potential to transform the collaboration between law firms and legal departments, and expanding the firm’s footprint in Africa
  • Ranked #1 by deal count in main business hubs across Europe
  • Appointed 41 new partners globally in 2020. Women accounted for 40% of all promotions.

Leading global law firm CMS today announces revenues for the financial year 2019 of € 1.426bn. This translates into year-on-year growth of 4.5%.

Chairman Pierre-Sébastien Thill said, These results show that we are delivering on our strategy to become a world-class law firm, driven by technology and concentrated on key economic sectors that require global support.”

He continues: “Since the year end, the COVID-19 outbreak has led to exceptional challenges for many of our clients and our priorities have been to provide high quality, timely legal advice and execution through the crisis while safeguarding the wellbeing of our people. Our focus is now shifting towards helping businesses plan for the next phase and the inevitable economic reality. At CMS, the global knowledge that exists across our business is an advantage in helping our existing and prospective clients get back into the recovery mode sooner rather than later.”

Willem Hoorneman, managing partner at CMS in the Netherlands, on the annual figures: "Our international organisation, with a presence in 43 countries, is built on a solid foundation, as these results show. Our continuing geographical expansion allows us to serve clients globally while situated in The Netherlands. We will therefore continue to look to extend our global reach and further strengthen our international position. Our clients will of course remain our key focus as we advise them and represent their interests in these challenging times."

Investing in global growth
Last year, CMS began its investment in developing Lupl, the world’s first open industry platform for legal matters. Lupl synchronises everything that goes into a legal matter in a single secure space. It has the potential to transform the ways in which law firms and legal departments work together on complex, high-stakes projects. A beta version of Lupl launched in May 2020 which has been very well-received in the legal community. Full launch is expected in early 2021. 

In October 2019, CMS announced that RM Partners and Daly & Inamdar Advocates, based in South Africa and Kenya respectively, have become member firms. The addition of these firms has strengthened CMS’s footprint in Africa, which also encompasses Angola, Algeria and Morocco.

Executive Partner Duncan Weston said, “As an organisation with an international outlook, we’ve always felt that true innovation in the legal industry requires a collective shift in mindset to eliminate proprietary closed systems and a reluctance to work together. By supporting the development of Lupl and combining the idea of global collaboration with our geographical expansion, we hope to create transformational change in our industry for decades to come.”

Strengthening the foothold in key markets
In 2019, CMS was also ranked #1 by deal count in Europe, the UK, Germany, CEE and Benelux by Bloomberg, Mergermarket and Thomson Reuters.

CMS assisted with a number of large (inter)national deals in The Netherlands. CMS advised Essent (part of innogy SE) on the acquisition of the sustainable energy company Vandebron. CMS also advised Immatics, a biopharmaceutical company that researches the development of immunotherapy for cancer with the use of T cells, on the business combination with Arya Sciences Acquisition Corporation and the listing on NASDAQ. This transaction was worth 253 million dollars. CMS also advised South Korean investor Kiwoon Asset Management on the acquisition from Blackstone of  the prominent office building Queens Towers in Amsterdam for 130 million euros. CBRE Dutch Residential Fund approached CMS to advise them on the acquisition of a portfolio of residences (1.000 residences in 23 locations) from a Dutch pension fund. This was a so-called swap deal in which the seller was payed through equity participation in the purchaser.

Ongoing growth within the business
Across most jurisdictions, business has remained stable largely due to a successful shift to remote working, while continuing to grow revenues organically. CMS appointed 41 new partners in the 2020 global promotions round. The new partners span 15 cities across Europe, Latin America and Africa, and work across a wide range of practice and sector groups. Women accounted for 40% of all CMS promotions globally.

Executive Director Matthias Lichtblau added, “These promotions are a clear sign that CMS is continuing on its course of growth and expansion. The internationality of our teams combined with expert knowledge of their own markets, allows us to offer our clients a depth and quality of advice that few others can. As we extend our reach around the globe, we acknowledge our corporate responsibility, both internally and in client advisory. Upholding environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and working towards creating a sustainable business are key issues for us.”

Related people

Portrait ofWillem Hoorneman
Willem Hoorneman
Managing Partner
Amsterdam