Evercore Partners generated record revenues in 2018, a year in which independent advisory firms took their biggest-ever share of global mergers and acquisitions.

The New York-based firm said on January 30 that revenues rose 23% to more than $2bn last year on the back of big increases in fees from both M&A advice and capital markets underwriting. The full-year figure was boosted by an 81% surge in advisory revenues during the fourth quarter — a record for the company.