Profits up 10% at Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton has posted a 10.3% rise in post-tax profit to £75m, while average distributable profit per partner was up nearly 7% to £407,000.

Meanwhile, the firm, which has offices in Leeds and Sheffield, saw overall revenue drop 6.4% from £534m to £500m as the business reshaped its client portfolio. A major factor in the fall in revenues was the unexpected cessation of a Government contract to deliver business growth services, otherwise like for like revenue would have been 2.5% up.

Chief executive Sacha Romanovitch said the results give the firm “great cause for optimism” after a year turning the business “inside out.”

She said: “Our brand awareness is at an all-time high, we are growing our market share in each of the three impact areas outlined in our Vision 2020 strategy, and we are seeing the seeds of sustainable profit growth driven by a unique shared enterprise culture.

“Our ability to gain and sustain market share, as well as our increased brand awareness, clearly demonstrates that our purpose-led strategy is resonating with the market.  This positions us well for future growth as we turn increased awareness into valuable commercial outcomes for our clients and our business.”

Andy Wood, managing partner for Grant Thornton Yorkshire, said: “2016/17 was a positive year of progress here in Yorkshire too. We’ve grown across each of audit, tax and advisory in contributing to the firm’s overall results, as we continue to focus on driving a vibrant economy in the region.

“We’ve continued to develop our talent, further enhanced by the addition of a number of experienced lateral hires over the past two years, and resulting in the strong senior leadership team that we now have embedded into the business.

“To echo Sacha’s comments, we will build upon this year of progress for Grant Thornton in 2017/18 to deliver client value, sustained growth and continued collaboration across the region. We’re excited about what’s ahead.”

Grant Thornton is now an adviser to over 51% of the FTSE100, is the leading auditor to the public sector, and its private sector clients employ more than 6.3m people in the UK.  2016/17 also included work with a major UK clearing bank on the ring-fencing of its retail bank.

Romanovitch added: “2016/17 was a year of excellent progress.  2017/18 is a year where we will build upon that progress to deliver exceptional client value and sustainable growth.”

The firm said its purpose was to shape a vibrant economy and that throughout the year it set out an ambitious programme of work designed to identify connections, insights and actions to drive value for clients, communities and business.

This programme included a Vibrant Economy Index which looked beyond GDP. Grant Thornton identified six areas, drawing on measures from existing data, to draw out insights across England as to performance of 324 local authority areas.

It also launched its Vibrant Economy Commission, ran seven “Live Lab” inquiries across major UK cities with public, private and not for profit stakeholders, and published a ‘Blueprint for a Vibrant Economy.’

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