Deloitte U.K. Partners Paid Over £1 Million Despite Slowdown

By Irina Anghel, Bloomberg News (TNS)

Partners at the U.K. arm of Deloitte LLP will earn more than £1 million ($1.2 million) again this year despite a recent slowdown in demand.

The amount shared by the accounting firm’s 1,300 U.K. equity partners is broadly the same as last year. They also pocketed another £53,000 each after the firm made £38 million from selling Deloitte Total Rewards and Benefits, it said Sept. 29.

A strong performance in the first half of the year helped offset slower growth in Deloitte U.K.’s advisory arm in the six months to the end of May when deal-making suffered and clients became more cautious with their spending. Deloitte recently announced it’s cutting more than 800 jobs in the U.K. in response to the slowdown.

“Markets are expected to remain challenging and, like any responsible business, we have adjusted our plans in response,” said U.K. CEO Richard Houston.

He added that the U.K. faces a tough year, with concerns about the cost of living, slow economic growth and rising geopolitical tensions.

Deloitte U.K.’s profit rose 6% to £756 million in the year to May 2023. Revenue for its British business, which includes its Switzerland arm, increased to £5.6 billion from £4.9 billion. This was fueled by 16% growth in consulting revenue thanks to demand from financial services and public services, as well as digital transformation programs.

Revenues only increased 9% in the second half of the year, compared with the annual rise of 14%.

Job cuts at Deloitte are in line with broader cost-reduction measures from Big Four rivals in the UK. KPMG LLP also plans to cull 125 consulting jobs, while Ernst & Young LLP announced it’s cutting 5% of staff in its UK financial services consulting division. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is freezing pay increases and bonuses for some of its 25,000 U.K. employees.

______