Ernst & Young's (EY) UK turnover rose by 6% last year, driven in part by a strong performance from the firm's international services business and increased revenues from the financial services and public and government sectors.
Turnover for the period ending 28 June 2013 was £1.72bn, up from £1.63bn the previous year, a 5.52% annual increase in fee income.
EY had an average of 565 partners in its UK business during 2013, up from 549 in 2012, with 52 new equity partners announced during the year. Average distributable profit per partner for 2013 was £651,000 up from £597,000 in 2012, a 9.5% increase year on year. The figures are based on total profit of £368m for 2013, up from £328m in 2012.
Steve Varley, chairman and managing partner UK & Ireland at EY, said: 'Posting 6% organic revenue growth at a time when business investment levels in the UK remain historically weak, is a good achievement. It demonstrates that our investment programme is paying dividends - we have consistently performed at the top of our industry in the last three years.'
The firm's advisory service line was the strongest performer, posting growth of 17% to £486m (£416m in 2012), helped by increased demand in the areas of big data, cyber-security and financial regulation. Assurance and tax both grew by 6% to £507m (£478m) and £455m (£431m) respectively.
However, transaction advisory services (TAS) posted an 11% decline in revenues to £273m (£306m), after what EY described as 'an exceptionally tough' transactions market in the first half of the year. The firm says business in this area is now picking up, and it has accelerated investment into services such as valuations and business modelling and post-deal integration, both of which posted a double digit percentage increase in revenue.
Client wins during the year included Dyson, Iberia and two FTSE 100 audits - BG Group and Land Securities. EY said growth has been driven by clients' continued appetite for trading with or expanding into overseas markets, and the international services business posted double-digit growth.
Varley said: 'Our firm's global structure and scale in rapid-growth markets is really helping to drive our success internationally. We have a growing number of EY people from around the world working in the UK on assignments and more secondment opportunities available for our UK people overseas.'
EY has announced plans to hire 2,400 experienced recruits next year, as well as offering 1,300 student places, and will be doubling the size of its teams working on 'hot issues' such as big data and cyber security over the next two years.
In its accompanying transparency report, EY stated that total taxes paid to the UK Exchequer by the firm, including the contribution of partners, are estimated at £669m (£614m in 2012). One in five UK partners are women and 8% BME, compared with its targets to reach 30% and 10% respectively by 2015.
EY was ranked fourth in the Accountancy Top 60 Survey in January 2013. The latest results show that the firm is vying for third place against closest competitor KPMG, which reported annual revenue of £1,774bn in 2012.
