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- Deloitte UK's annual revenue fell 1% in its latest financial year.Hiring and promotions were also down at the Big Four firm.Despite the slowdown in demand, partner take-home rose by 4%.
Annual revenue at Deloitte UK has declined for the first time in 15 years,
The Big Four professional services firm released annual results on Tuesday, reporting annual revenue of £5.68 billion ($7.6 billion) in the year ending 31 May 2025 — a 1% decline on the previous year. The results include the firm's Switzerland office.
Growth at Deloitte UK has slowed in recent years, falling from 14% to 2.4% in its 2024 financial year, but this is the first time revenue has registered a drop since the Great Recession years of 2009 and 2010.
"Geopolitics and continued economic headwinds meant that many organisations have been carefully managing their costs and delaying certain investments," said Richard Houston, the CEO of Deloitte UK and a senior partner, in a press release. He described the firm's performance as "a robust set of results in a complex market."
Deloitte's consulting business contracted 10% to £1.67 billion, or $1.9 billion, which the firm said was caused by clients holding back investments in "large scale change programmes."
To respond to the slowdown in demand, the CEO said that Deloitte UK has "had to review and make changes to the shape of our firm," and focused on "operating more cost effectively."
Compared to the previous financial year, Deloitte cut promotions by 1,300 and appointed 20 fewer partners. The firm also reduced hiring for the second year running — the number of "new colleagues" fell from 6,800 in the 2023 financial year to 3,160 this year.
The firm's UK arm has reorganized its business divisions, laid off workers, and introduced a series of cost-cutting measures, such as reducing its spending on staff travel and expenses by more than 50%.
Profits were up 4% in the 2025 financial year, and average profit per equity partner rose to £1.05 million ($1.3 million).
UK partners pocketed over £1 million for the fifth year running, the highest partner returns amongst the Big Four, which also includes PwC, KPMG, and EY.
Deloitte converted 77 people from salaried to equity partner, nearly three times as many as it did the previous year. The firm said the promotions were "a sign of confidence in our firm's future and the growth opportunities ahead."
Globally, Deloitte is the largest of the Big Four by both revenue and employees. Its UK branch contributed about 10% of the firm's global revenue in its 2024 financial year. Global results for the 2025 financial year have not been released yet.
The Big Four firms are attempting to balance operations following the end of the pandemic-era rush on advisory services, which left consulting divisions within an inflated workforce. AI is also driving change and disrupting revenue streams across major consulting firms.
The results reflect the market up to May this year.
In an internal memo to Deloitte's UK staff in May 2025, obtained by Business Insider, Houston said the firm had anticipated "greater economic stability and a gradual return of growth opportunities" at the start of the 2025 financial year.
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