Deloitte partners average pay close to £1m as Big Four profits surge
Deloitte’s UK partners will pocket around £1m on average as the Big Four’s revenues have seen a revival driven by a demand for advice during the pandemic, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news.
The payout to 700 equity partners at Deloitte, who received an average of £731,000 from profit shares last year, is reportedly the highest in over a decade.
The average payout will be made up of profit shares, expected not to exceed pre-pandemic levels of £882,000, and a further £200,000 per partner after the Big Four finalises the sale of its UK restructuring division to advisory firm Teneo.
The highest paid partners are expected to take home payouts significantly above £1m in total.
In June Deloitte announced it had promoted 79 of its UK staff to partners, a jump of almost 20 per cent compared to the previous year.
The news will be welcomed by Deloitte partners who faced a 17 per cent cut in 2020 – at the time the biggest percentage cut among the Big Four – though at £731,000 their distributable profits were still higher than peers at rival firms.
It comes five months after he accounting giant handed out ‘Thank you’ payments of between £500 and £2,000 to all UK staff below partner level, with the amount paid determined by the employees pay grade, which is linked to their seniority level.
The accounting giant declined to comment on the report.
Earlier this month Deloitte reported a 5.5 per cent rise in its global revenue for 2021 up to $50.2bn as demand for its advisory services grew during the pandemic.
The big four company’s financial advisory arm saw the biggest boost, having grown by 12.9 per cent, as the company provided services “on thousands of distressed and COVID-related mandates.” The surge in financial services work was followed by demand in its audit & assurance division, which grew 6.1 per cent.
Although its revenue rise was global, the company saw the greatest growth in its Asia Pacific market at 14 per cent, followed by its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market which also grew, at 11 per cent.
The Big Four company also saw its workforce grow by 3.2 per cent to over 345,000 for the fiscal year ending 31 May 2021.
Deloitte’s UK annual results will be published next week.