Deloitte to reduce regional deals teams to skeleton staff
Big Four consulting and accountancy giant Deloitte has put 100 jobs at risk amongst its corporate finance teams, including the regional markets where it once reigned supreme.
TheBusinessDesk.com understands that last year alarm bells were ringing throughout the UK practice that deal volumes in the Big Four sweet spot had declined to such an extent that it made sense to retreat from mid-market mergers and acquisitions.
As a result approximately 100 people, from all grades, are now potentially at risk of redundancy.
Deloitte insists it is committed to serving the M&A market, but admits it will now concentrate on larger, sector-focused M&A activity, in line with the remaining focus of the business, which is layering on additional services to major clients, beyond accountancy.
Deloitte’s multi-disciplinary model, especially in planning and property services, has been a success in the UK regions, most notably the Manchester real estate team.
A statement from Deloitte sent to TheBusinessDesk.com in response to questions said: “We are considering restructuring parts of our advisory corporate finance business. This is in order to concentrate on larger, sector-focused M&A activity. As a consequence, we are proposing to close some parts of that business.
“We will consult on this with people in these teams over the coming weeks. This will undoubtedly be an unsettling time for those affected and we will be doing everything we can to support them.”
While the numbers involve represent approximately 5% of Deloitte’s UK financial advisory business and less than 0.5% of the total UK firm, the move away from what was a mainstay of the firm’s activity is significant.
Deloitte did not respond to questions about the futures of key leaders in the UK regions, but it is notable that regional office senior partners – Anil Gupta in Yorkshire and Andy Westbrook in the North West – are both experienced corporate financiers who built their careers when Deloitte was the pre-eminent Big Four firm in the corporate finance market.
