Foreign firms urged to invest in Yorkshire

David Buckley said there was growing confidence about EY’s global prospects, which he aims to capitalise on in the Yorkshire market.

“We’re going to be at the forefront of spreading the message that Yorkshire is a place overseas companies should be investing in,” he added,

EY, which already employs 350 people in Yorkshire, announced that it plans to recruit 3,700 people over the coming year, with a third of them being hired in “regional hotspots” including Yorkshire. There is no breakdown for the number of people likely to be hired in Yorkshire.

EY today reported UK turnover growth of six per cent to £1.721bn for the period ended June 28 2013, up from £1.631bn the previous year.

Globally, the firm reported revenues of 25.8bn US dollars for the same period, which is 7.7 per cent higher than the previous financial year in local currency terms. In the UK, the firm grew in three out of four of its service lines. Advisory posted growth of 17 per cent to £486m, assurance and tax both grew by six per cent to £507m and £455m respectively, while transaction advisory services (TAS) posted an 11 per cent decline in revenues to £273m.

EY took on 80 school leavers, 700 graduates and 500 undergraduates in the last financial year. The firm also created more than 1,200 jobs across the UK. Some of these jobs were offered to graduates on the EY Smart Futures programme. The programme helps young people from underprivileged backgrounds increase their chances of securing employment.

EY recently announced plans to recruit 2,400 experienced staff in the UK over the next 12 months, from Inverness to Bristol, in response to growing demand from its clients for services. Globally, EY plans to recruit 55,000 people.

EY had an average of 565 partners in its UK business during 2013, up from 549 in 2012. It appointed 52 equity partners during the year. The profit to be divided among the partners was £368m, up from £328m in 2012. Average distributable profit per partner for 2013 was £651,000 up from £597,000 in 2012.

Mr Buckley added: “EY has posted strong revenue growth over the last three years, which provides us with a solid platform for market advancement. With increased momentum in our business, our regional markets present a major growth opportunity for the firm.

“Globalisation and pursuing opportunities in fast growth markets overseas, continues to dominate the thoughts of our client base and indeed fuels our pipeline.”

EY opened a new Hull office at Marina Court on Castle Street, earlier this year.

Mr Buckley added: “Companies in East Yorkshire are active in both local and overseas markets; as a global gateway for our clients we are ideally placed to connect them internationally to accelerate their growth plans.

“Our corporate finance team has been involved in some of the region’s stand-out deals, including, the sale of ghd to Lion Capital, providing an exit for Montagu Private Equity. Our restructuring team here in Leeds led the administration of the high street fashion retailer, Republic, resulting in a sale to Sports Direct, safeguarding 2,100 jobs.

“In Yorkshire we have brought our new purpose to life with the launch of EY’s Accelerate Programme – the first region to do so outside London. Accelerate provides a networking forum, one-to-one mentoring and learning events to support and encourage young business leaders and social entrepreneurs.

“The region is a hive of entrepreneurial talent that contributes greatly to the economic success of our region.”

He said this week’s announcement that James Lambert, the chairman of Yorkshire-based R&R Ice Cream, had won the title of EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year, was a sign of the strength of the region’s economy.

He added: “In Yorkshire, we experienced growth in all four service lines. People used to say that Yorkshire didn’t have any entrepreneurs. If you talk to people like James (Lambert) you see that Yorkshire people are self-starters. They are getting on and doing things.

“It’s no coincidence that the winner of the EY entrepreneur of the year award comes from this fair county.”

A stark decline in projects

YORKSHIRE has seen a marked fall in international investment since the coalition Government came to power, according to analysis released recently by Ernst & Young.

Research by the Big Four accountancy firm, which was released in August, showed that the devolved administrations of Scotland and Wales are achieving big increases in foreign direct investment.

But since the scrapping of the regional development agency and the introduction of local enterprise partnerships, Yorkshire has witnessed “a stark and continuing decline” in the number of projects, said EY.

The North West and North East, have also seen declines in project numbers, according to EY’s research.