The members present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025.
The principal activity of the limited liability partnership during the year was the provision of legal services. The results of the year and the financial position at the year end were considered satisfactory by the members who expect continued growth in the foreseeable future.
The allocation of profits and losses are calculated in accordance with clause 6 of the Limited Liability Partnership Agreement dated 22 October 2024. Members' drawings are made in accordance with clause 7 of the agreement. Profits and losses shall be credited or debited to that member's account as appropriate. Upon exiting the partnership, members' capital is returned to them. Accordingly, members' capital is classified as a liability.
The designated members who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
The members are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law (as applied by The Limited Liability Partnership (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008) requires the members to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the members have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. Under company law (as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008) the members must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the limited liability partnership and of the profit or loss of the limited liability partnership for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the members are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the limited liability partnership will continue in business.
The members are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the limited liability partnership’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the limited liability partnership and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 (as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the limited liability partnership and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
We have audited the financial statements of Wikborg Rein LLP (the 'limited liability partnership') for the year ended 31 December 2025 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the reconciliation of members' interests and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Basis for opinion
Conclusions relating to going concern
Other information
As explained more fully in the members' responsibilities statement, as set out on page 1, the members are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the members determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the members are responsible for assessing the limited liability partnership's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the members either intend to liquidate the limited liability partnership or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect irregularities, including fraud. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both those charged with governance of the entity and management.
Our approach was as follows:
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the limited liability partnership and determined that the most significant are those that relate to the Solicitors Regulations Authority Code of Conduct, including the Solicitors Accounts Rules as regulated by the Solicitors Regulations Authority in the United Kingdom, the reporting framework (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice); including FRS 102, the Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts & Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 and the Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting by Limited Liability Partnerships".
We understood how the limited liability partnership is complying with those frameworks by making enquiries of management and seeking representations from those charged with governance to understand how management maintains and communicates its policies and procedures in these areas. We corroborated our understanding by reviewing supporting documentation including members’ meeting minutes and correspondence with regulatory bodies.
We assessed the susceptibility of the limited liability partnership’s financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur by considering the risk of management's override of internal controls and by designating revenue recognition as a fraud risk. We performed journal entry testing, with a focus on journals indicating large or unusual transactions based on our understanding of the business. We tested the completeness of revenue through substantive testing and assessing the judgements made by management.
Based on this understanding we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations. Our procedures involved enquiries of management and those charged with governance, review of legal and professional expenses, review of members’ meeting minutes and correspondence with regulatory bodies.
The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the limited liability partnership's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 as applied by the Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the limited liability partnership's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the limited liability partnership and the limited liability partnership's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.
Wikborg Rein LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Wikborg Rein LLP, 30 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 6XH.
The limited liability partnership's principal activities are disclosed in the Members' Report.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting by Limited Liability Partnerships", together with FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the limited liability partnership. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
This limited liability partnership is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this limited liability partnership, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The limited liability partnership has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements:
Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’: Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;
Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues: Interest income/expense and net gains/losses for financial instruments not measured at fair value; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;
Section 33 ‘Related Party Disclosures’: Compensation for key management personnel.
The financial statements of the limited liability partnership are consolidated in the financial statements of Wikborg, Rein & Co. Advokatfirma. These consolidated financial statements are available from its registered office Postboks 1513 Vika, 0117 Oslo, Norway.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the members have a reasonable expectation that the limited liability partnership has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the members continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Turnover represents amounts chargeable to clients for professional services provided during the period excluding expenses and value added tax.
Services provided to clients, which at the balance sheet date have not been billed, have been recognised as revenue. Revenue recognised in this manner is based on an assessment of the fair value of services provided by the balance sheet date as a proportion of the total value of the engagement. Where the right to receive payment is contingent on factors outside the control of the LLP, turnover is only recognised (over and above any agreed minimum fee) when the contingent event occurs. Unbilled revenue is included in debtors as accrued income. Disbursements, being expenses incurred on behalf of clients and recharged are shown net in the statement of comprehensive income.
Members' participation rights are the rights of a member against the LLP that arise under the members' agreement (for example, in respect of amounts subscribed or otherwise contributed remuneration and profits).
Members' participation rights in the earnings or assets of the LLP are analysed between those that are, from the LLP's perspective, either a financial liability or equity, in accordance with section 22 of FRS 102. A member's participation rights including amounts subscribed or otherwise contributed by members, for example members' capital, are classed as liabilities unless the LLP has an unconditional right to refuse payment to members, in which case they are classified as equity.
All amounts due to members that are classified as liabilities are presented within 'Loans and other debts due to members' and, where such an amount relates to current year profits, they are recognised within ‘Members' remuneration charged as an expense’ in arriving at the relevant year’s result. Undivided amounts that are classified as equity are shown within ‘Members' other interests’. Amounts recoverable from members are presented as debtors and shown as amounts due from members within members’ interests.
Where there exists an asset and liability component in respect of an individual member’s participation rights, they are presented on a gross basis unless the LLP has both a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts, and it intends either to settle on a net basis or to settle and realise these amounts simultaneously, in which case they are presented net.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the profit and loss account.
At each reporting period end date, the limited liability partnership reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the limited liability partnership estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The limited liability partnership has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the limited liability partnership's statement of financial position when the limited liability partnership becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amounts presented in the financial statements when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Financial assets, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting end date.
Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected. If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss.
If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in profit or loss.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the limited liability partnership transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the limited liability partnership after deducting all of its liabilities.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans and loans from fellow group companies are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the limited liability partnership’s obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The taxation payable on the partnership profits is solely the personal liability of the individual members. Consequently, neither partnership taxation nor related deferred taxation arising in respect of the partnership are accounted for in these financial statements.
Provisions are recognised when the limited liability partnership has a legal or constructive present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the limited liability partnership will be required to settle that obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.
The amount recognised as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting end date, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation is recognised at present value. When a provision is measured at present value, the unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in profit or loss in the period in which it arises.
The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
The limited liability partnership operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the limited liability partnership to the fund in respect of the year.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leased asset are consumed.
Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation in the period are included in profit or loss.
In the application of the limited liability partnership’s accounting policies, the members are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The following estimate has been identified as a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the financial statements:
The members estimate and make provision for costs that will be incurred in yielding up the property, that the limited liability partnership leases, on expiry of the lease. The actual cost of the works that need to be completed could vary from the estimate.
An analysis of the limited liability partnership's turnover is as follows:
The average number of persons (excluding members) employed by the partnership during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
The limited liability partnership has an overdraft facility of £3m (2024: £3m) which is renewed on an annual basis. As at 31 December 2025 and 2024, the limited liability partnership was not utilising the overdraft facility.
Amounts due to group undertakings are unsecured, interest free and have no fixed date of repayment.
The limited liability partnership operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the limited liability partnership in an independently administered fund. No amounts were outstanding at either the current or the prior year end.
In the event of a winding up the amounts included in "Loans and other debts due to members" will rank equally with unsecured creditors.
At the reporting end date the limited liability partnership had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
The limited liability partnership is controlled by its members. The members consider that the limited liability partnership is part of the Wikborg Rein & Co. group of lawyers.
The profit and loss account also includes the following:
Royalty fees payable to Wikborg Rein & Co. of £200,000 (2024: £200,000)
Professional fees payable to other Wikborg Rein & Co. offices of £1,337,840 (2024: £1,422,680)
Professional fees receivable from other Wikborg Rein & Co. offices of £2,658,497 (2024: £3,210,601)
Commissions payable to Wikborg Rein UK Limited of £3,578 (2024: £2,817).
As at the balance sheet date amounts were outstanding to or from other Wikborg Rein & Co, group companies undertakings as detailed in notes 10 and 11.
The amounts outstanding are unsecured and interest free and will be settled in cash. No guarantees have been given or received. No expense has been recognised in the year in respect of bad debts from related parties.