Midlands makes a strong contribution to EY growth
BIG Four accountants EY has reported UK fee income growth of 7% to £2.150bn for the year ending July 1, 2016 – up from £2.010bn in the previous year.
The results take EY’s Compound Annual Growth Rate over the last five years to 8%, adding almost £700m to its revenue.
The slow-down in the run up to the EU Referendum reduced momentum somewhat, however, the firm said all service lines and regions still reported strong growth over the year.
Distributable pre-tax profits increased by 3% from £437m to £452m.
The performance of EY’s 900-strong Midlands practice was in line with the UK firm’s strong growth during the financial year.
Regional highlights included the consolidation of the firm’s regional operation at 1 Colmore Square in Birmingham.
Three new equity partners were brought on board in Joanne Kaveney-Davis, Neil Meredith and Mark Minihane, serving across tax, transaction and advisory services.
There was also the promotion of three executive directors and three directors to strengthen local teams and strengthen the offer to mid-market firms in the region.
The firm also recruited over 300 new starters to the Birmingham office, including 80 graduates, school leavers and interns.
The financial year also saw the launch of EY’s 50-strong People Advisory Services (PAS) Midlands team, an integrated practice combining Tax and Advisory which has seen 20% growth in headcount over the past 12 months. This is led by partner, Joanne Kaveney-Davis.
EY’s Entrepreneurial Services team in the Midlands was created to partner with fast-growth entrepreneurial businesses in the mid-market. This operation is led by partner, John Houlden.
In addition, the EY Foundation supported 15 Birmingham year 12 students on its paid work experience programme Smart Futures, with one student awarded financial support in the form of a £5,000 bursary on behalf of the EY Foundation Ronnie Bowker Bursary.
Four Midlands firms were also recognised at the national final of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year UK 2016: Marg Randles and John Woodward of Busy Bees; William Chase of Chase Distillery; Mark Jones and Jeremy Taylor of Green Frog Power; and Heather Penn and John Penn of SSE Audio Group.
Sara Fowler, Senior Partner at EY in the Midlands, said: “Investing and developing in our people, business and brand have been vital to our success in recent years, and this continued in FY16.
“The Midlands is an important market for EY and this has been reflected by the firm’s continued investment in the regional business. Over the past 12 months, we’ve focused on expanding our service line offerings and growing local teams to meet increased demand for our services and strengthen the support EY offers to mid-market firms across the region.”
