Ernst to recruit staff as its revenues hit six-year high

David Buckley, Ernst & Young’s senior partner for Yorkshire, said that financial services were still hugely important to the regional economy, as the sector seeks advice during a period of radical changes.

Over the last financial year, Ernst & Young’s UK business posted an 11 per cent increase in revenues to £1.6bn, which the firm said was largely due to its globalisation strategy.

A spokesman for the firm said it wouldn’t disclose the profits per partner figure, because they hadn’t been signed off by auditors.

However, the spokesman confirmed that the figure was “slightly down” on last year’s figure of £635,000.

The company, which employs around 350 staff in Yorkshire, has invested heavily in working with cross-border businesses.

The Big Four accountancy firm is expanding into a new wing of Bridgewater Place in Leeds and will soon announce more details about a move to a larger office in Hull.

Commenting on results, Mr Buckley said yesterday: “We have posted strong results in an uncertain market, which reflects our positive performance in Yorkshire.

“Our globalisation strategy has paid dividends. Our local clients see us as a global gateway, connecting them easily to international markets to accelerate growth.

“For the first time in three years, Ernst & Young in the UK has posted revenue growth across all four of its service lines.

“Advising clients on improving their performance, becoming more tax efficient, divesting their non-core assets, better managing their people, and monitoring and managing fraud and corruption, contributed significantly to the firm’s growth in the UK.

“We have continued to invest across our business over the last 12 months, including our financial services practice in Yorkshire, which has culminated in an expansion of our office space into a new wing of Bridgewater Place in Leeds.”

He added: “With great change in the financial service sector, banks, building societies, insurers and others are calling on our 70-strong team to help advise them.

“We are helping clients in this sector on the regulatory reform agenda, the downward shift on returns on equity, the balance between shareholder return and employee return, the need for customer remediation and cultural change, and the need to win new customers.”

He said Ernst & Young would move to new offices in a “premier location” in Hull later this year.

He added: “We will continue to add value to our clients in Yorkshire by being the most globalised firm that supports entrepreneurialism and invests in its people.

“Yorkshire has a very strong heritage in financial services, and that’s continuing.”

Steve Varley, the UK chairman and managing partner of Ernst & Young, said: “I am very proud of what we have achieved in an uncertain market. We have posted our highest revenue growth since 2006, which in large part was driven by bold ambitions to go beyond the UK to look for growth opportunities.”

Mr Varley stressed that opportunities on “home soil” were still driving growth. He said the firm was winning work and investing in all the major markets in which it operates across the UK.

Ernst & Young reported that a number of UK companies that had moved offshore were returning to Britain, following favourable changes to the tax system.

Mr Varley said the business had decided to invest for growth during the downturn. Overall, staff numbers had risen over the year by more than 10 per cent to 1,200.

Mr Varley added: “We’ve had a good year in challenging economic times. I am optimistic we can continue to shape and positively support the future direction of our clients’ growth, the way that our people work, and the social and business issues that impact on the growth of the UK economy.”