Foot Anstey

Founded by the father of former Labour Party leader Michael Foot in 1903, as recently as the 1990s Foot & Bowden was a Plymouth high-street firm. Its merger with Exeter’s Anstey Sargent & Probert in 2000 formed the Foot Anstey of today.

The firm then spent a number of years growing primarilty though bolt-ons of smaller firms, including Somerset’s Alms & Young in 2005 and both Plymouth’s Serpell Eaton and Truro’s Hancock Caffin in 2007.

However, in 2008 managing partner John Westwell took over the reins and came to the conclusion that this method of expansion had left Foot Anstey with a long tail of small, unprofitable clients. He embarked on an exercise to bring in better lawyers and bigger clients to move the firm up the value chain. A new prestige office on the Plymouth waterfront was one of the draws designed to bring the best and brightest on board.

The strategy has been successful; Foot Anstey has seen revenue rocket from £19.4m in 2008 to £43.4m in 2018. Profit per equity partner has increased year on year in the same time period and stood at £370,000 in 2018.

The firm ignored the advice of consultants to open a Bristol office in 2011, when the pain of the recession was still biting. The doubters were proved wrong, however, and the firm has grown in Bristol from six lawyers to more than 160 as of 2019. A Southampton office has also launched since then.

Martin Hirst was elected managing partner for a first four-year term in 2023.

Foot Anstey’s managing partners

	Managing partner
1997	Jane Lister
2008	John Westwell
2023	Martin Hirst