2% rise for the firm, but 8% bump for the bosses

Good morning,

We now have nearly the full set of the 2026 results from the UK arms of the Big Four (bar KPMG, which reports in January), giving us a full picture of how the big players performed over the past year.

But from an overview of each firm, two seems to be the magic number. EY, Deloitte, and PwC all recently reported 2 per cent revenue growth over the financial year. 

Interestingly, despite this slight uptick in turnover, each firm has taken the shears to its headcount, and partners were the clear winners. Across the board, profit per equity partner (PEP) outstripped revenue growth by a wide margin, ranging from 7 per cent to 10 per cent. 

The sector, especially these big names, has faced a lot of headlines over the past few years about layoffs. 

The slowdown came after the post-Covid hiring spree. The hefty headcount, along with people opting to stay in their jobs instead of using the traditional revolving door, has led to the shears coming out to protect equity partners from taking a hit. 

It was also revealed this week that Deloitte hiked pay for its EMEA chief executive, Richard Houston, from £4.9m to £7.1m as a one-off award. 

Houston led Deloitte’s UK business for seven years but was promoted in June to head the EMEA division, a new entity overseeing Deloitte’s operations in more than 80 countries, following a restructuring this year that he led.

But the Weil situation reminds us that people are a professional services firm's real assets, and if hefty billers walk out the door in droves, the firm will be left scrambling to survive.

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Have a great Thursday!

Big Four giant EY posted a 2 per cent rise in UK fee income over the past year and hiked partner payouts, even as its consulting arm came under pressure from what it said was a “challenging market”.

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