PwC Partner Pay Drops Below £1 Million as U.K. Profit Declines

By Irina Anghel, Bloomberg News (TNS)

Partners at the U.K. arm of accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will see their pay drop below £1 million ($1.27 million) this year, as it reported a decline in profit.

PwC will pay its U.K. partners an average of £906,000 for the latest financial year, less than the record £1.02 million its partners received in 2022 after they shared profits worth £920,000 each, as well as a £100,000 bonus. There is no such bonus this year.

The British business has over 26,000 people on its payroll, including 992 partners last year.

PwC U.K.’s profit declined to £1.3 billion in the year to June 2023 from £1.5 billion in 2022, the company’s financial results showed. Results for the previous year included a £139 million boost from the sale of its global mobility practice.

Revenue of the U.K. group, which includes its Middle Eastern businesses, increased 18% to £5.8 billion, when excluding the mobility unit sale. The gains were driven by 30% growth in its consulting business which benefited from Middle Eastern firms looking to diversify beyond oil, the company said.

PwC U.K.’s audit revenues grew 19% as it was reappointed by HSBC Holdings Plc and was appointed to audit NatWest Group Plc from 2026.

“Against a backdrop of political and economic upheaval, our multidisciplinary business has charted a strong course,” said Kevin Ellis, PwC’s U.K. chair and senior partner. “Considering the sizeable investments we’ve made in our people and technology, partner profits beat our forecasts.”

PwC also said it handed around half its U.K. staff as much as £1,500 spread over five months to help them cope with higher energy bills.

The firm is also growing its presence outside London. Over half of its 1,600-strong graduate class were hired in other locations, and the number of people working in PwC’s Cardiff office grew by 25%.

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