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Latest Results

Keystone, the premier tech-enabled platform law firm, is pleased to announce its full year results for the year ended 31 January 2026 (‘FY2026’ or the ‘Period’)

- Significant revenue and profit growth delivering results marginally ahead of market expectations (1)
- A record number of fee earners joined Keystone increasing total fee earners by 13.5% to 654
- AI success being achieved by implementing and promoting solutions tailored to our business

Financial Highlights:

  • Revenue growth of 17.9% to £115.2 million (2025: £97.7 million)
  • Revenue per Principal up 10.5% to £243k (2025: £220k)
  • Adjusted PBT up 20.6% to £15.3 million (2025: £12.7 million) representing an adjusted PBT margin of 13.3% (2025: 13.0%)
  • Adjusted basic EPS of 37.0p (2025: 30.4p)
  • Cash generated from operations up 17% to £13.5 million (2025: £11.5 million) with operating cash conversion of 98.9% (2025: 94.5%)
  • Strong balance sheet with net cash of £9.7 million (2025: £9.7 million)
  • Paid interim ordinary dividend of 7.5p per share and proposed final ordinary dividend of 17.2p per share bringing total ordinary dividend per share to 24.7p per share (2025: 20.2p)

Operational Highlights:

  • Delivered an excellent operational and financial performance with strong client demand across the business
  • Significant levels of applicant demand in the Period reflecting Keystone’s market position
    • Buoyant recruitment environment delivered 294 qualified new applicants (2025: 283) in the Period
    • 22% increase in Principals recruited with 61 new Principals added (2025: 50) bringing total Principals to 491 (2025: 455)
    • 31% increase in offers accepted with 68 new joiners in the Period (2025: 52)
    • 35% increase in ‘other’ fee earners to 163 (146 pod members and 17 central office lawyers), with total fee earners up 13.5% to 654
  • Quality focused recruitment strategy continues to reinforce Keystone as ‘the premier platform law firm’
    • 221 Keystone lawyers ranked in Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2025 (2025: 207 listed, up from 65 in 2019)
  • Investment in Keystone’s tech-enabled platform and ongoing AI adoption
    • Ongoing implementation and evaluation of IT infrastructure to drive real impact for our lawyers and the broader business
    • Rolled out several AI initiatives to enhance our offering to lawyers, including deploying secure, locked-down versions of ChatGPT and Claude and adopting the NetDocuments AI extension
  • Designed and delivered our brand refresh which accurately reflect Keystone today
    • Launched a new website and marketing collateral in Q1 2027, enhancing stakeholder experience and strengthening our market position to support growth

Current Trading and Outlook:

  • The Group has made a positive start to 2027 with client demand and recruitment activity remaining positive during Q1 2027
  • The Board remains confident that Keystone will continue to deliver strong, sustainable growth and expects adjusted PBT to be ahead of current market expectations for 2027 (2),

(1) Management understand market expectations prior to this announcement for 2026 to be: revenue £114.3m, adjusted PBIT £12.7 and adjusted PBT £15.1m.

(2) Management understand market expectations prior to this announcement for 2027 to be: revenue £122.3m, adjusted PBIT £13.6 and adjusted PBT £15.1m.

James Knight, Chief Executive Officer of Keystone, commented:

“We delivered another excellent year for Keystone, with strong operational and financial momentum driven by sustained client demand and continued growth in lawyer numbers.

Our brand refresh, which more accurately reflects the evolution of Keystone, underscores our ambition and further reinforces our position as the premier tech-enabled platform law firm. In addition, the ongoing investment in IT infrastructure and AI capabilities continues to differentiate our highly scalable model, underpinning both our strong balance sheet and progressive dividend policy.

I would like to personally thank everyone at Keystone for their ongoing support and look forward to the new financial year which I’m confident will be another period of sustained growth.”