Eighth consecutive year of revenue growth as 5,000 new people join the firm, including over 1,700 graduates and school-leavers
Business Advisory firm Deloitte has increased its revenue[1] by 5.9% in the financial year ended 31 May 2018, from £3,380m to £3,580m, marking the eighth consecutive year of revenue growth.
Across the service lines, Audit and Risk Advisory revenues grew by 10.2% to £1,027m, Consulting increased by 1.7% to £873m, and Tax saw its revenue rise by 5.8% to £732m. Financial Advisory remained at £459m.
In the last financial year 5,000 people joined Deloitte, with nearly 2,000 of them based outside of London. Of the 5,000, over 1,700 were graduates and school-leavers, including 270 BrightStart apprentices, Deloitte’s programme for school-leavers.
Deloitte’s 700-strong Yorkshire & North East practice also witnessed another year of strong revenue growth. The team operates from offices in Newcastle and Leeds, and appointed Stuart Cottee as its new practice senior partner in January.
Stuart Cottee said: “Our growth this year was underpinned by continued investment in our people, a large number of new client wins across our service lines, as well as being boosted by the buoyant M&A market.
“Consistent with the performance of Deloitte nationally, our Yorkshire & North East practice has performed strongly, with particularly good results achieved by our Global Employer Services, Forensic and Restructuring Services businesses, which all achieved growth in excess of 20%.
“Our transactions business has also been very busy, and this has continued since our year-end, with strong growth in our Transaction Services, M&A Tax, Debt Advisory and Financial Advisory businesses. Of particular note last year, we provided corporate finance advisory, debt advisory and tax advisory services as part of the deal which saw LDC investing £31.8m for a significant minority shareholding in Newcastle-based NBS.
“We were also involved in the £3.4bn sale of Sky Betting & Gaming to Canadian business The Stars Group, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Group’s (CYBG) £1.7bn acquisition of Virgin Money and the £152m sale of Heron Foods to FTSE-250 retailer B&M Bargains.
“Our North East Tax practice saw continued demand across its client base, including some of the most innovative, respected and thriving organisations across the region, such as new client True Potential, an award-winning fintech business.”
Deloitte’s Yorkshire & North East practice recently saw over 150 people achieving promotions across the region, including 13 new partner and director appointments. The firm also recruited 68 new graduates and seven school leavers onto the Deloitte Brightstart apprenticeship.
Stephen Hall, office senior partner in Newcastle, said: “Our senior promotions and increased investment at grassroots level is testament to our growth plans and commitment to the region. Individually and collectively our people will help ensure Deloitte continues to make a significant impact in the local market.”
David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte North West Europe, said: “This is a good result in a market facing slower economic growth and continued uncertainty. Tax revenues have been boosted by demand for M&A, private client and employment-related services work, as well as demand for digital solutions to global compliance obligations, where we are continuing to invest. Following the launch of our UK legal services, we are also growing our offering in immigration, employment services, corporate dispute and resolutions, alongside a focus on ‘new law’ services.
“Financial Advisory advised on over 100 M&A deals with a total value in excess of £40bn, and on 50%[2] of main market IPOs. We saw strong growth in Transaction Services, Portfolio Lending and Debt Advisory services, driven by the buoyancy of the M&A market, in addition to continuing growth in Financial Crime services.
“Our Risk Advisory business saw an increase in demand for cyber and regulatory advice, while Consulting was focused on reinforcing its leading position in delivering digital transformation programmes for clients. The business integrated new additions including creative agency Acne and proposition design consultancy Market Gravity into Deloitte Digital, whilst continuing to build its alliances in the market with Apple and McLaren Applied Technologies.
“The audit profession has faced significant scrutiny in the past year, with concerns raised over quality, conflicts of interest and a lack of choice. These are serious concerns and we recognise the need for change. We must look at how the audits of the future match the evolving needs of stakeholders and society and address increasing business complexity. We have continued to invest in training and technology to help our 4,300 audit professionals deliver the highest quality audits and are proud to audit 27% of the FTSE 100.”
Looking to the year ahead, Stuart Cottee added: “We’ve been very clear about our bold growth plans for the North East and I am pleased to report that across the first two months of the new financial year we delivered really strong growth numbers. We will continue to invest hugely in our people to deepen and broaden our capabilities, to serve our clients and make a positive impact on their businesses.”