“Dynamic” Midlands powers KPMG to record revenues

The professional services firm KPMG UK has announced a 5% increase in revenues from £2.06bn to £2.17bn for the financial year ended 30th September 2017.

However, despite this strong underlying growth, a selection of investment write offs and one off items saw the firm’s profits decrease by 19.5%. As a result, the firm’s profit before tax and members’ profit shares fell from £374m to £301m. This led to a reduction in average partner remuneration from £582,000 to £519,000.

In the Midlands, the firm recruited 81 graduates, 24 apprentices, 9 school leavers and promoted 112 people.

Karl Edge, Midlands regional chairman at KPMG, said: “In line with the wider firm, our business across the Midlands delivered a solid performance over the course of the year, with revenue growth of 5 per cent, building on the strong growth of the last two years.

“I am proud of our financial performance and the investment we have made in our people. The talented individuals who work so hard to deliver excellent services to our clients have enabled our strong performance, whilst at the same time building new solutions and making them a success.

“We enjoyed good growth in our audit practice and are particularly delighted with our performance in competitive tenders over the year, securing the audit of Jaguar Land Rover.

“Our consulting teams also had a particularly good year, driven by increased demand from clients for advice on pressing issues such as GDPR and cyber security.

“Looking ahead, the Midlands remains a key growth area of the UK economy, however, as recognised by the Industrial Strategy, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed, such as productivity.

“Investment in the Midlands is extremely welcome, and recent announcements such as Coventry winning the UK City of Culture 2021 bid and Coventry and Warwickshire being selected to host an £80m battery research centre, are evidence of the region’s growing attractiveness.

“In the Midlands, there’s a real dynamism and desire to be the UK’s engine for growth, and we are committed to contributing to the success of the region and supporting the significant opportunities and challenges that devolution will bring in 2018.”

KPMG’s Midlands region is made up of three offices in Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham.