BDO will not bridge Big Four gap, says Newman
BDO results not enough to catch up with Big Four
BDO Stoy Hayward’s spectacular interim growth of 25% is not enough to bridge
the gap with the Big Four, according to the firm’s managing partner Jeremy
Newman.
The results, which saw interim fee income climb to £124.4m from £99.7m, mean
BDO is now growing faster than any of the Big Four.
Newman said he was delighted with the performance, but added that the
double-digit rise in interim revenues was not large enough to make up ground on
the giant firms.
‘Even if we continued to grow at 5% to 10% faster than the market, the fee
incomes of the Big Four are so large it will take a very long time to bridge the
gap,’ Newman said.
The growth did, however, signal that BDO was beginning to compete and win
against the Big Four more frequently.
‘This growth reflects that the market does know what we can offer and is
buying from us. We are breaking down misconceptions in the market,’ Newman said.
He added that the firm expected to continue growing ahead of the market and
would pursue its aggressive investment strategy. Over the last six months BDO
has increased its staff count by 27% to 2,670 people. ‘I would be very
disappointed if we did not grow ahead of the market going forward,’ he said.