Total fee income at Mazars is up 8.6% as revenue hit £130.9m, marking the fifth successive year of growth for the mid-tier firm as organic growth drove profitability
The firm reported an 18.2% increase in UK profits in the year to 31 August 2014, as profit before tax rose to £26.2m compared to £22.2m in the previous year.
Mazars, currently ranked 10th in the annual Accountancy Top 75 Survey, has grown revenue from £91.2m to £130.9m since the crash in 2008. At the same time, staff numbers have remained fairly static at 1,157 in 2014, compared with 1,148 in 2008, reflecting increasing profitability per head.
The strong performance was attributed to organic growth and merger activity, particularly the acquisition of Deloitte’s specialist public sector internal audit business which contributed 3% towards growth.
The firm’s advisory service lines grew 22% from £28.2m to £34.4m, due to strong performance from financial services consulting, project finance and forensic and investigation services.
Audit and actuarial services continued to account for a large share of revenue, up by 8.3% from £48.3m to £52.3m.
The tax practice remained fairly static with a slight drop in fee income of 0.8%, from £24.5m to £24.3m.
Phil Verity, UK senior partner said: ‘The results demonstrate very encouraging progress: our strategy is based on achieving long-term sustainable growth through responding to clients’ needs, investing and innovating in the markets, and pursuing the right opportunities as they arise. The significant increase in profitability is testament to this.’
He continued: ‘This year we have continued to invest in developing the range and depth of skills within our teams – increasing reward to our staff by more than 10% - and rolling out a series of people-focused initiatives to help support the team.’
The firm has also made some key external hires with several highly experienced partners joining dedicated client teams such as financial services. Significant resource has also been investing in the upgrading and integration of key internal systems.
Following the external recruitment of new teams in Scotland and the East Midlands – numbering over 50 people in total – in the early part of the financial year, the firm also opened two new offices in Leicester and Perth.