EY announces substantial growth plans for its Consulting business

• EY has invested £95m since 2020 in its UK & Ireland (UK&I) Consulting practice and aims to double in size (headcount) by 2026 to 10,200 people
• 80 new equity Partners have been appointed in UK&I Consulting in the last 24 months
• A further £75m investment is planned in the next year to expand capabilities, with a focus on delivering more complex tech-enabled transformations
• EY UK&I has acquired more businesses in the last two years than it has in the last decade, with four out of five acquisitions in its Consulting practices

EY has today revealed plans to double the size of its UK and Ireland (UK&I) Consulting practice in the next four years, backed by £75m of investment. This is in addition to the £95m that the firm has already invested in its Consulting practice since 2020.

The substantial growth plans will see EY Consulting in the UK & Ireland increase headcount from 5,100 to around 10,200 people by 2026. More than half of the new roles will be based outside of London, in cities including Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Birmingham.

The expansion is being fuelled by increasing demand from clients implementing large scale, strategic transformation programmes, enabled by technology, data, and people.

Alison Kay, EY UK&I Managing Partner for Client Service, who joined EY UK&I in 2020 from EY’s Global Executive and is spearheading EY’s growth plan in the UK & Ireland, comments: “In recent years, organisations in both the public and private sector have been grappling with a convergence of challenges, from the global pandemic, climate change, geo-political uncertainty, and operating in a post Brexit world.

“At EY, we are investing heavily to upskill and expand our workforce, to meet the demand from businesses embarking on transformation projects, to ensure they remain competitive, keep pace with change, and navigate ongoing market challenges.”

New recruits will reinforce the firm’s existing strengths in Finance, Risk, Supply Chain, Change Management, Cultural Transformation, and Strategy, and boost skills in areas including: SAP, Microsoft, ServiceNow, Cloud, Data Analytics, and Cyber.

80 new partners and four acquisitions in last 24 months

As part of the growth ambition, in the last two years, EY’s UK&I Consulting business has appointed 80 new Partners (promoted into role or appointed directly from the market) and acquired four leading businesses to add technical and specialist skills and talent to the teams:

• Pythagoras - a leading UK technology company and Microsoft Gold Partner
• Seaton Partners – a specialist firm in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Applications, including Finance and Supply Chain Management, HR and Power Platform
• Lane4 – a specialist firm in workforce transformation, leadership, and culture change
• PeakEPM - a leading UK provider of financial planning, stress testing and cost management consulting for financial services, industrial and energy firms.

Benoit Laclau, Managing Partner for Consulting at EY in the UK & Ireland, who was appointed in May 2020, commented: “Our clients are looking for deep technical support to help transform their businesses and future-proof their strategy. This typically involves the implementation of new technology and often large-scale cultural change across their organisation.

“The strong market demand for Consulting services is giving us confidence to invest at scale - £95m so far and £75m planned this year alone - and to grow our headcount. There is real competition in the labour market for top talent, and we are proud of the progress we have made to date. We aim to recruit diverse talent across the UK & Ireland, regardless of where they are based, promoting flexible and hybrid working to attract talented individuals."

To fuel the ambitious growth plans, EY will be recruiting across all levels, from Partner level through to graduates and school leavers.

As well as providing access to professional qualification courses for relevant employees -including Chartered Accountant (ICAEW), Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA), and Chartered Management Consultant (CMI) qualifications) - EY is specifically investing in its workforce’s technology skills. EY already offers all of its people globally the opportunity to complete a Tech MBA with Hult International Business School and/or a new accredited Masters in Business Analytics, at no cost to the individual.

Laclau added: “As well as focussing on fuelling our own growth plans, we recognise the role we play in training future business leaders, who will no doubt need enhanced transformation and technology skills throughout their career. It also helps businesses to stay ahead of the curve and make an impact in their local market.”