Incomes rise for EY following investments, promotions and high-profile deals

Investment, promotions and a series of high-profile Yorkshire deals have combined to hand professional services provider EY a successful year's trading, with fee incomes having risen seven per cent with the firm.
Senior promotions at EY in Yorkshire and Humberside

 Stuart WatsonSenior promotions at EY in Yorkshire and Humberside

 Stuart Watson
Senior promotions at EY in Yorkshire and Humberside Stuart Watson

EY, which now employs 500 people across Yorkshire at its bases in Leeds and Hull, generated a national fee income of £2.150bn for the year ending July 1, and increase from £2.01bn the year prior.

This takes EY’s compound annual growth rate over the last five years to eight per cent, adding almost £700m to its revenue. The performance of EY’s Yorkshire practice was in line with the UK firm’s expansion during the financial year.

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During the period the firm appointed a new Yorkshire partner in the shape of Mark Pickard to strengthen the indirect tax team as well as a number of internal senior promotions and investment in the next generation of recruits, from its school leaver and graduates programmes.

The Yorkshire Transaction Services team also worked up multiple deals across all service lines, including the £1.4bn acquisition of technology firm Pace by Arris Group Inc in January.

Stuart Watson, Yorkshire Senior Partner at EY, said: “Over recent years we’ve been firmly focused on investing in our Yorkshire practice, together with our people and our brand in the region.

“These investments reflect the strong demand from clients and the strength and quality of the region’s businesses.

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“Yorkshire and the North East is an important market for EY. Despite some uncertainty around the upcoming negotiations of new trading arrangements with the EU we are seeing continued confidence in the region as a place in which to do business. Clients are pushing ahead with investments and acquisitions and are determined to shape their own growth plans.

“Public interest entities are also increasingly interested in engaging with advisers as they tackle an increasing complex world.

“I’m pleased to see how, as a firm, we have been engaging in local communities as we seek to build a better working world. A highlight of my year has been our Smart Futures programme, which provides paid work experience to school pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. I was proud to see how fantastically they all performed.”

The slow-down in the run up to the EU Referendum reduced the momentum of EY’s overall performance but regions still reported strong growth. Distributable profits before tax increased by 3 per cent from £437m to £452m.

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Steve Varley, EY’s UK chairman, said: “There have been a variety of economic and political headwinds affecting global growth with the uncertainty around the impact of Brexit being one of a number of challenges that companies are having to consider. However, I am confident that our global structure and deep sector experience will continue to be a differentiator. We are already seeing signs of an improving market with activity levels picking up in our first quarter of the new financial year. In order to maintain this momentum it is vital that business and government continue to work together to ensure the UK remains attractive, competitive and connected in the global economy.”

In total EY recruited over 4,000 people across the country, including over 1,500 student places.