Grant Thornton grows profits while radically reshaping portfolio
While profits grew, revenue slightly dropped due to the to the cessation of the government-funded Business Growth Services programme
While profits grew, revenue slightly dropped due to the to the cessation of the government-funded Business Growth Services programme
Over the past year top 10 firm Grant Thornton has undertaken a bold and transformative strategy aimed at creating sustainable growth.
Sacha Romanovitch, CEO of Grant Thornton UK commented: “2016/17 has been a year where we turned our business inside-out, aligning everything we do to our clear purpose of shaping a vibrant economy.”
Profit growth and market expansion
The firm’s growth strategy entailed dramatically reshaping its client portfolio by exiting certain market streams and entering others, which replaced 20% of profits.
In the past year the firm achieved growth in the three impact areas previously outlined in the Vision 2020 strategy – post tax profit grew by 10.3% to £75 million, average distributable profit per partner increased by 7% to £407,000, and revenue was reported at £500m.
Revenue dropped slightly from the previous year, £534m, in part due to the cessation of the government-funded Business Growth Services programme. Excluding this programme, revenue grew by 2.5% on a like for like basis.
Romanovitch expressed optimism over the year’s results, commenting: “Our brand awareness is at an all-time high, we are growing our market share in each of the three impact areas outlined in our Vision 2020 strategy, and we are seeing the seeds of sustainable profit growth driven by a unique shared enterprise culture.”
Grant Thornton also continued to expand its client base and now advises over 51% of FTSE100 companies. The firm is also the leading auditor to the public sector.
Investments
Specific areas of investment for the firm have included its strategic account programme, which created income growth of 24%, and its Financial Services and Forensics expertise, creating 24% profit growth. The latter area received 30% of partner promotions.
The firm’s Export Advisory Service was also grown, which supports clients in exporting overseas by supplying an integrated channel through which various specialist functions can be accessed.
Romanovitch said: “Over 50% of our revenue is now derived from clients trading internationally so it is critical that we develop propositions and solutions which help them maximise their global growth potential. Investments in international advisory and leveraging the huge experience of the global Grant Thornton member network is key to this.”
Building a vibrant economy
The firm enters 2018 with a sustained focus on building a vibrant economy, and to work towards this the firm launched the Vibrant Economy Index last year, which measures the success of the economy in six areas beyond GDP. The index provides businesses and policy-makers with a wider understanding of the local economy.
Another component of the strategy is the Vibrant Economy Commission comprising of progressive UK leaders, and the firm also published a ‘Blueprint for a Vibrant Economy’.
Romanovitch credits this strategy with increasing the firm’s brand awareness and positioning it as a progressive and dynamic organisation.
Grant Thornton recently reported its mean gender pay gap at 26.6%