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EY sees ‘continued confidence’ in North West business as revenue tops £2bn

Professional services firm EY has announced a 7% jump in revenue for its UK operations with its North West practice forming a key plank in its continued the growth.

The global business, which has its UK headquarters in London, enjoyed growth across all four of its service lines as group-wide revenues rose to £2.150bn for the year ending 31 July, up from £2.010bn in 2015.

Its tax business saw the biggest growth, swelling 12.4% to £581m in the last year with particularly strong performance in its M&A practice, UK corporate tax advisory teams and regional tax business.

Its Assurance service line, which grew 5.8% to £619m, and Transaction Advisory Services, which rose by 6.2% to £344m, both posted strong growth, while its financial services business posted its eighth consecutive year of growth underlined by a particularly strong performance for its FinTech team.

The services firm’s 600-strong North West practice, which includes offices in Liverpool and Manchester, had a particularly impressive year with headcount growing by 15% in the past 12 months.

Simon Allport, North West Senior Partner at EY, said that, despite the continued Brexit uncertainty, there was still ‘strong demand’ from clients to do business in the region.

He commented: “The North West is an important market for EY and we are seeing continued confidence in the North West as a region in which to do business, despite some uncertainty around the upcoming negotiations of new trading arrangements with the EU.

“Over the financial year we have secured a number of landmark North West accounts. The Transaction Services team has had a successful year, working on 26 deals with a combined value of over £3bn.”

Allport added that the firm is primed for further expansion with the launch of its legal practice in Manchester in 2017 and the move to its new Two St Peters Square premises which will mark a ‘shift change’ in the firm’s working styles.

“As a ‘workplace of the future’ this office space will present an increased focus on flexible working and cross-team working, together with the introduction of the latest interactive and collaborative technology,” he said.