Top 50+50 Movers and Shakers

The top five positions remain (unsurprisingly for now!) unchanged with the usual suspects: PwC retain the top spot, followed by Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and BDO. However, more noteworthy, is that PWC became the first of the Big Four to breach £6 billion fee income.

A notable shift occurred in sixth place, where Evelyn Partners surpassed Grant Thornton, reporting a total fee income of £701 million compared to Grant Thornton’s £654 million.

Evelyn Partners’ ascent is attributed to an aggressive M&A strategy, including acquisitions of Leathers LLP, Ashcroft Partnership LLP, Creaseys Group Limited, and Harwood Hutton.

Although, both firms are currently in the process of significant private equity investment. It’ll be interesting to see where they are this time next year.

The rankings also reveal a significant increase in M&A activity among mid-market firms, with 33% reporting acquisitions or sales in the last financial year, up from 31% previously. This trend indicates ongoing consolidation within the sector – see our other blog on this. There were no fewer than eight new entrants into the top 100 this year, the pick of the crop being Sumer, who have had a bumper year with 10 acquisitions. Affinia was the biggest mover, up 29 places to 43rd!