KPMG grows regional revenues but UK profits fall

BIG Four accountancy and business advisory firm KPMG has reported 4% growth in revenues in its Northern practice to £221m.

The firm which has offices in Liverpool, Manchester and Preston in the North West said the revenue growth mirrored the national rate of growth, also up 4% to £1,77bn.

Nationally profits were down 13% to £349m after the firm said it had been hit by one-off redundancy costs after making cuts due to a slower-than-expected economic recovery.

Commenting on the regional picture Jonathan Hurst, KPMG’s Northern vhairman and Manchester office senior partner, said: “Last year we worked harder than ever in a challenging market to grow revenues at regional and national level.

“Our North West team’s expertise and commitment to delivery have been vital in securing and retaining key clients to support this.

“We’ve invested in the business, regionally and nationally, with particular emphasis on risk consulting and management consulting which is already paying off, given these areas are leading the growth charge.”

In the year to the end of September the firm won new clients including listed transport and infrastructure group Stobart, retailer Matalan, Betfred and Wynnstay Group

Other regional headlines saw a strong performance by Jonathan Boyers’ corporate finance team which worked on eight transactions during the first nine months of 2012, including advising the shareholders of Clarke Energy on the business’ partial sale to ECI Partners and Gresham Private Equity on its buyout of IESA

The regional transaction services team advised on over 25 deals with a combined value of approximately £1bn.

Looking ahead, Mr Hurst commented: “There are signs that market conditions are improving slowly, and the first few months of our new financial year have been encouraging.

“Our ongoing commitment to the region is highlighted further by our planned move to One St Peter’s Square in Manchester in 2015.”