EY’s UK partners enjoy double-digit pay increase – Daily Business

Big four accountancy firm EY has posted record UK profits, enabling it to hand out double-digit pay rises to its partners – twice as much as the rise for employees.

Fee income for the year to 3 July came in 2% higher at £3.86 billion, while distributable profits before tax increased 3.4% to £702 million.

Average profit per partner rose to £870,000, an increase of about 10.5% from £787,000 in the previous year, even as consulting revenues continued to decline.

Average pay for employees increased by 5.2%, alongside an increase in the total value of employee bonuses of over 25%. EY announced more than 3,700 internal promotions and progressions.

Consulting revenue fell 3%, extending the downturn to three consecutive financial years. The decline was offset by growth elsewhere in the business. EY-Parthenon, the firm’s strategy and transactions practice, recorded revenue growth of 6%, while tax and assurance each grew 3%.

EY also reported a 46% increase in sales of AI and data projects, reflecting stronger demand for technology-related transformation work.

Anna Anthony, EY UK & Ireland regional managing partner, said: “These are a solid set of results in a challenging market. We’ve continued to grow the business, while making significant investments in talent and technology to support our future growth and deliver high quality and innovative services to our clients.”

Despite the difficult consulting market, the firm recruited 2,300 people. However, it has reduced its UK equity partnership to 774, its lowest level in five years, while limiting partner promotions and moving some partners into salaried positions.

The smaller equity partnership helps explain why average partner distributions increased substantially faster than the firm’s overall profits.

EY’s £870,000 average remains below the latest UK payouts reported by its three Big Four rivals. PwC’s UK partners received a record £935,000 despite workforce reductions and falling consolidated group revenue. Deloitte paid approximately £1.13 million, while KPMG’s latest reported figure was £880,000.

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