BUSINESS: DE LO IT TE REVENUES PASS £3M MARK/ YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT DISPARITY:
DELOITTE ADVISED on deals worth more than £1bn in Yorkshire last year, helping the business advisory firm to post its fastest growth in revenue in a decade.
The firm increased group revenue by £313m in the year ended May 31, topping £3bn for the first time.
Total UK revenue across the group grew by 13.6 per cent to £3.04bn, the sixth consecutive year of revenue growth and the fastest increase in 10 years.
Its merger and acquisitions team advised on transactions totalling more than £1bn during the period, including the sale of York-based Shepherd Group’s construction division to Wates and the refinancings of Hg Capital portfolio business JLA and of Rutland backed AFI Uplift.
It also advised on the sales of Endless-backed FMG to Redde and the initial public offering of Morses Group.
The region’s audit practice has benefitted from a number of new clients in the current year, in particular in the listed market.
The risk advisory practice achieved revenue growth of 22 per cent and now comprises over 70 people delivering a range of services.
The tax practice achieved 13 per cent growth and the local team supported both corporates and management teams on a large proportion of the region’s most significant transactions in the last year including the sale of Priory to Acadia.
Nationally profit distributable to partners for 2016 was £608m, compared to £593m in 2015. The average profit earned by each equity partner in the year, based on the firm’s distributable profit, was £837,000, compared with £822,000 in the previous year.
Martin Jenkins, practice senior partner for Yorkshire and the North East, said: “I am pleased to report another year of strong growth for the firm and our clients in Yorkshire in line with the national picture.
“We have continued to invest across the practice to deepen and broaden our capabilities to serve our clients and make a positive impact on their businesses.
“All areas of our business contributed positive growth with particularly strong double-digit growth in consulting, tax, risk advisory and in our M&A businesses. From an industry perspective growth was strongest in consumer and industrial products, TMT and in healthcare & life sciences.
“Our consulting capabilities continue to be a differentiator in the market with drivers of growth being digital and business transformation projects.”
Despite the upbeat figures, the firm’s senior partner and chief executive David Sproul conceded that the uncertainty cloaking the economy following the vote to leave the EU would mean the rapid growth in activity would inevitably slow.
Mr Sproul said: “The early economic indicators suggest the uncertainty created by the Brexit vote will lead to a slowdown in the second half of this year.
“However, UK businesses are both adaptable and resourceful and the UK remains in the top tier of the world’s most competitive economies, benefitting from strong institutions and a highlyskilled workforce.”
The chief executive then called upon Government to ensure that Brexit did not restrict the ability of UK business to attract skilled migrants and for immigration policy to be determined by economic needs rather than targets.
“Our CFO survey showed business seeks clarity from government over the negotiations with the EU.
“The government must recognise that further restricting skilled migrants could be detrimental to the UK’s ability to attract global investment and the diverse pool of international talent that has supported our country’s growth.
“Business must now work with government to set a vision for a post-EU environment that is open, pro-growth and, crucially, delivers prosperity and opportunity for all.”
£1BN The value of the deals that Deloitte has advised on in Yorkshire during the last 12 months.