Grant Thornton delivers a third year of strong results

Leading buiness and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP’s revenues increased 10.6% to £417m for the financial year ended 30 June 2012, a significant milestone towards achieving its 2015 target of £500m.

Pre-tax profits were up by £1m even after the continued investment in people, brand and infrastructure. In the last year the firm has invested in new offices in Cambridge, Reading, Belfast and Birmingham. Grant Thornton’s brand promise ‘unlocking the potential for growth for dynamic organisations’ has been launched globally. And they have hired over 300 new trainees and appointed 20 partners.

Reflecting this significant investment, average distributable profit per partner dipped slightly, 2% lower at £335,000.

Overall revenues for the Advisory practice increased by £37.5m (22%) to £205.2m, reflecting a 6% growth in turnover from the Corporate Finance division and an 28% increase in Recovery & Reorganisation’s turnover. The Government Infrastructure Advisory team also enjoyed a strong year of growth driven largely by the Manufacturing Advisory Services and GrowthAccelerator contract wins in the public sector.

Taxation services grew by 3% to £91.9m, while Assurance revenues remained broadly flat at £120m.

Scott Barnes, CEO Grant Thornton UK LLP commented: “The partnership has delivered a strong result for the year, which is ahead of expectations and testament to our core strategy and the hard work and vision of the people within the business.

“We are seeing revenue growth benefits from our 2011 investments and work wins and are forecasting continued growth in 2012/13 from the gains we made in 2011/12, most notably our Audit Commission contracts, which confirm our ability to undertake quality audits of large and complex organisations.

“We continue to focus on delivering excellent and value adding services, and leveraging our international network and capabilities for the benefit of the mid-market, the engine room of UK economy.

“This is our third year of very strong results and current trading remains strong. We are very realistic as the market remains tough and we do not expect growth to be driven by any economic upswing. We have invested strongly for sustainability, and shall continue to do so, achieving our growth ambitions through increased market share and investments to deepen and widen our capability.”