PwC average UK partner pay falls to £862,000 as sales growth slows

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PwC’s UK partners took home an average of £862,000 this year, a drop on the previous 12 months as sales growth at the Big Four accounting firm slowed and rising costs dented profits.

Partners at the UK firm, which also encompasses its Middle East operations, received a 5 per cent pay cut on average as total revenue growth slowed to 9 per cent compared with 16 per cent in 2023 amid a more difficult economic backdrop.

The firm’s performance was bolstered by its business in the Middle East, which reported a 26 per cent surge in sales, compared with a rise of just 3 per cent in the UK.

Total profits for PwC UK also fell 14 per cent to £1.1bn during the year to June after staff costs swelled by nearly a fifth during the period. Total revenues for the year came in at £6.3bn.

PwC is the first of the Big Four to publish a breakdown of its UK results for the 2024 fiscal year. Rivals are also expected to report a slowdown in growth as a difficult economic environment prompted companies to cut spending.

Marco Amitrano, senior partner of the UK and Middle East firm, said: “We’ve achieved growth in a tough UK market while investing in the technology and skills that will help our clients evolve [and] improve how our people work . . . core services such as tax and audit have proven particularly resilient.”

The fall in average distributable profits for PwC’s UK and Middle East partners, who own and run the business, marks the lowest payout for the firm’s top brass since 2020. However, top earners are paid significantly more.

The Big Four — which also includes Deloitte, EY and KPMG — have been forced to contend with a market slowdown in the past year following a boom in demand during and after the pandemic.

Like its rivals, PwC has axed hundreds of jobs in the past 12 months, and warned staff over the summer to expect lower pay rises and bonuses owing to “challenging market conditions”, the Financial Times previously reported.

Consulting was PwC’s best-performing division during the period, with revenues jumping 18 per cent to £2bn, driven by infrastructure projects across the Middle East.

The firm’s audit practice reported a 10 per cent jump in revenues, while sales at its tax division rose 4 per cent.

Despite merger and acquisition activity remaining subdued, revenues at the firm’s deals practice climbed 5 per cent, as clients looked for “forward-looking support”. Its risk division reported a slight drop in revenues.

Amitrano, the firm’s former consulting boss, took over from Kevin Ellis as its senior partner in July.

The succession coincided with leadership changes at PwC’s global, US and Chinese operations and came as the wider professional services sector deals with technological changes driven by the rise in artificial intelligence.

PwC said it invested £100mn during its latest financial year in technology, including AI, as well as “other strategic priorities”.

Amitrano previously told the FT that technology would be one of his three priorities during his tenure, adding that AI has “all kinds of opportunities for us and our people but, inevitably, it’s something that people will feel threatened by as well”.