KPMG breaks £2bn revenue barrier
PROFESSIONAL services firm KPMG UK has pushed revenues past the £2bn mark saying it had “responded well” to market challenges.
Revenues rose 6% for the year to 30 September 2016, from £1.96m the year before to £2.1bn this year. However it did say that setup costs for new technology-led services resulted in a 2% decrease in profits.
Mid-market tax, transaction services and management consulting achieved double digit growth though the risk consulting division was the only one not to grow, due to the closure of large bank remediation projects.
The firm created approximately 1,500 new jobs. Staff numbers now top 13,000.
Nationally, KPMG secured the audits of companies such as John Lewis Partnership, Standard Life, Balfour Beatty and Wood Group.
The firm made 40 internal promotions and accelerated the retirement of a number of partners, all of which led to a reduction of average partner pay from £623,000 to £582,000. KPMG’s UK chairman Simon Collins was paid £1.8m, down from £2.2m in the previous year.
He said: “The shift in demand for professional services continues at pace. Stimulated by regulatory reform, audit tendering activity in 2016 was the busiest year for the FTSE 350 since the trend began in 2013.
“Throughout this busy year of tendering, we have won some fantastic work, maintained a FTSE 350 share of 28% and continue to be the largest auditor of listed businesses overall.
“We are living in uncertain times – with our clients considering what a break from the EU will look like and the impact of Trump’s presidency, set against continued themes of wider geopolitical unrest and terrorism.
“Our experts are well placed to help our clients with navigating the year ahead and, in particular, Brexit where we stole a march by appointing a senior level Head of Brexit within weeks of the vote and now have an established dedicated team assisting our firm-wide activity.
“I think our investment in the firm overall and the changes we’ve made to our operations have transformed our agility. I’m confident that we’re well positioned for the next year and beyond.”
Chris Hearld, North regional chairman, said: “Our business across the North of England has had an outstanding year, delivering revenue growth of 15%, increasing our market share and working on some high-profile and ground-breaking projects.
“In particular, our M&A teams have had a stellar year advising on some of the region’s landmark transactions, including the disposals of BDP and Clarke Energy, and we’ve seen some significant wins both amongst our larger listed and enterprise client base.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact that in recent years, we have invested heavily across the region – opening new offices in Leeds and Manchester, and a client hub in Sheffield; recruiting 40 new partners and directors; and launching new service lines including our hugely successful Enterprise offering.
“The reason we did so is that, although the North is a relatively mature market, we see boundless opportunities ahead – the emergence of tech and digital centres of excellence on both sides of the Pennines; the fact that it’s a hive of entrepreneurial activity and of course, the opportunities created by the devolution and Northern Powerhouse agendas.”
