The firm has also converted 77 people from salaried to equity partner – more than double the prior year’s 29 as it reshapes the partnership to support future growth plans. With average partner pay at Deloitte exceeding £1m in FY24, albeit down on a record payout in 2023, members of the partnership are the best paid among the top firms.

The tax and legal business has promoted 17 new partners, alongside 15 in audit & assurance, 14 in technology & transformation, and 14 in strategy, risk & transactions advisory. The majority are based in London, with four in 10 (40%) outside the capital.

Of the new partner promotions, 20 (33%) were women, with the total number of Deloitte’s women partners now standing at 421 (31% of partners).

This year’s promotions featured nine new partners from ethnic minority backgrounds, equating to 15% of the promotions. The overall number of partners from an ethnic minority background is now 12% but there are only 1% of Black partners, unchanged on last year, and missing the 2025 target.

Jackie Henry, managing partner, people and purpose at Deloitte UK, said: ‘We’re committed to building a diverse leadership team and so we’re pleased to have exceeded our 2025 target for women, and met our ethnic minority target.

‘However, we recognise there’s more work to do, particularly in increasing Black representation at partner level where we have not met our 2025 target.

‘We are focused on strengthening our talent pipeline at all levels and embedding a culture of inclusion throughout our firm, ensuring everyone can thrive, regardless of background.’

The partner promotions came against a backdrop of several hundred jobs cuts over 2024, as deals, advisory and consulting markets were hit by a downturn in client demand. However, the cuts were down on the previous year’s staff reduction of over 600 jobs. With 26,100 staff, Deloitte remains the largest professional services firm in the UK.

Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, said: ‘Our partnership remains critical to our firm’s culture and success in the market. Alongside our annual partner promotions, we have significantly increased the number of equity partners. This is a sign of our confidence in our firm’s future and the growth opportunities ahead.’

Deloitte is ranked number one in the annual Top 75 Firms Survey with reported revenue of £4.92bn in the UK for year end June 2024, although this was only up 1.7% on the previous year, and challenging trading saw profitability drop 41% in FY24 to £684m, down from £1.15bn in FY23.                                                                                                                                      

The number of UK partners overall now stands at 1,356. Deloitte also recruited 20 new external hires at partner level in the UK during the financial year from June 2024 to the end of May 2025. Of the 20, 12 (60%) were women and six (30%) were from an ethnic minority background.

Deloitte plans to publish updated diversity targets when it releases its result on 30 September.

Deloitte slashes partner profit by £48k | 30 Sep 2024