Simmons & Simmons’ alliance firm in Saudi Arabia, Hammad & Al-Mehda, is extending its reach with a new office in the country’s capital Riyadh.
Simmons has been working in alliance with Jeddah-based Hammad & Al-Mehdar since May 2011 (5 May 2011).
Subject to regulatory approval Hammad & Al-Mehdar’s Riyadh office will open in October.
The office will focus on both firms’ primary sectors of energy and infrastructure, financial institutions, asset management and investment funds, life sciences and technology, media and telecommunications.
Simmons & Simmons Middle East chief Andrew Wingfield highlighted Saudi’s strategic importance as a G20 member and the largest economy in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
“The development of this new office in Riyadh was naturally the next step in building on our alliance in the Kingdom as many of the firm’s clients already have operations in Riyadh,” he added.
Simmons also has alliance firms in Japan and Portugal. It tied up with Tokyo-based TMI in September 2001 (24 September 2001) and Sociedade Rebelo de Sousa in Portugal.
Simmons unveiled a 7 per cent increase in turnover for the 2013/14 financial year, with revenue rising to £268.6m from £250.3m in 2012/13 (8 July 2014).
Net profit also went up by 13 per cent, to around £75m from £66.2m, while average profit per equity partner (PEP) increased by 5.3 per cent to £553,000 from £525,000 last year.
The results mark a turnaround for Simmons, which saw revenue decline in 2012/13 (9 July 2013), while net profit and PEP remained roughly static.