Deloitte continues growth across Scotland in “landmark” year

A rise in revenue of 13.6 per cent has been chalked-up, taking turnover to £3.04 billion across its UK Group – its fastest year-on-year growth in a decade.

While in Scotland, the number of partners and directors increased to 35 and 45, as the firm also recruited 53 graduates and 10 BrightStarts – its school-leavers programme – to its Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen operations.

In what it described as a “landmark year”, Deloitte continued its investment across Scotland with plans to create a digital studio in Edinburgh – part of a network of 26 Deloitte Digital studios spread around the globe – and the launch of its new 18,280 sq. ft. Glasgow office at 110 Queen Street.

First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, officially opened the firm’s new office by announcing the Scottish Government’s ‘Returners’ project, which aims to help women back into work. Deloitte aims to have 25 per cent of its partner group comprised of women by 2020, and in recent years has introduced its Working Parents Transition and WorkAgility programmes.

On the same day, Deloitte also signed up to the Scottish Business Pledge, underlining its commitment to inclusive growth and a fair economy.

Steve Williams, senior partner for Deloitte in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said that the firm’s growth had come predominantly through its core financial services, oil and gas, public sector and entrepreneurial business markets.

He said: “The last 12 months have been particularly strong for the firm. We’ve achieved substantial growth, despite challenging conditions in the economy, by helping our clients harness the power of the disruption. A number of industries, principally financial services, oil and gas and the public sector, are undergoing fundamental changes in the way they do business.

“Through our investment in Scotland, and the launch of our digital studio, we aim to be at the forefront of these evolving sectors. Our private markets practice has also been very active, working with some of Scotland’s top entrepreneurs and growth companies throughout their life cycles.

“Despite tailwinds from Brexit and the sustained low oil price, we are confident about Scotland’s future and remain committed to the businesses we work with, and the places we work in, across the country.”

Deloitte achieved significant growth across its UK business, which includes five main areas: Audit and Risk Advisory, Tax, Consulting, Financial Advisory and Switzerland. Profit distributable to partners for 2016 was £608m, compared to £593m in 2015. The average profit earned by each equity partner in the year, based on the firm’s distributable profit, was £837,000, compared with £822,000 in FY15.

In the past year, Deloitte also invested in more than 30 disruptive start-ups – 20 of which were developed by Deloitte’s own people. This includes the launch of Propel by Deloitte, a cloud-based accounting and analytics service to help fast-growing SMEs and start-ups expand.

David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte, said: “This year we have seen double-digit growth across all business areas. We have had significant success in the audit market, with four wins in the FTSE 100, taking our market share to 23%.

“It has also been a strong year for our advisory businesses, given high levels of demand for our M&A, risk management and regulatory, international tax and compliance services and business transformation capabilities using technologies such as digital, cloud and analytics.

“We have unparalleled breadth and depth of services and I’m proud of the many things we’ve achieved in FY16. Our results are testament to our ongoing commitment to innovation, adapting to new and changing markets and attracting and retaining the best talent.”