FY23 proved to be a strong year for Deloitte thanks to the hard work and commitment of all our people and partners.  

We saw a softening of the market in the second half of the year, but remained disciplined around how we ran our business to ensure we could continue to make investments in our people and in our services.  

An ongoing focus has been our WorldClimate commitments, and this year we introduced a sustainable delivery clause in client contracts. ‘Clause Zero’ is designed to place sustainability at the forefront of every project. We’re also transforming our own ways of working - through the use of technology and hybrid working. 

Having become UK Managing Partner in June 2023, I’m looking forward to building on the solid foundations established by my predecessor Stephen Griggs and continuing to drive the strategy and financial performance of the firm in the UK. I want to see the firm grow in a way that supports our clients, gives our people great opportunities to develop their careers and serves the communities in which we work. 

The market outlook is challenging with inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions. We have a responsibility to adapt so that we can secure the future resilience of our firm and continue to invest in our people, technology and services. We remain confident in the future of our firm and our capabilities to serve a changing market.  

Our financial year closed with revenue for the UK and Switzerland of £5.6bn – up 14 per cent on the previous year – with a particularly strong first half of the year fuelling growth across all our Businesses.  

In Switzerland we experienced balanced growth across all Businesses and benefited from favourable foreign exchange movement during the year, delivering revenue growth of 20 per cent. 

Our UK advisory businesses grew by 11 per cent although growth slowed in the second half of the year and that’s continued into early FY24. 

Consulting saw growth across all sectors and Risk Advisory continued to see significant demand in areas such as regulation, cyber security, resilience and sustainable supply chains; after a strong start to the year, there was softening client demand in the second half for both businesses. 

Against the backdrop of a challenging M&A market in the second half of the year, Financial Advisory saw a strong performance. This was largely as a result of our support for clients with business valuations and understanding and complying with financial regulation changes and implementing strategies to help reduce financial crime. 

There was healthy growth in Tax & Legal as clients sought our advice in areas such as new global tax legislation and managing post-pandemic workforces, as well as legal entity management and commercial contract offerings. 

Our UK Audit and Assurance practice completed its second year as a ring-fenced business in FY23. During the year it grew by 20 per cent, demonstrating continued demand for audit services across all market sectors.  

Our robust financial performance has allowed us to continue our investment into technologies, with £120m invested to improve quality, client service and our hybrid working experience. We also invested over £310m in salary increases and bonus payments for our people, as well as over £50m in learning and development. We are relocating our office space in the city centres of Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester to new, more sustainable offices that also support our people's wellbeing and hybrid ways of working. 

Like all responsible businesses we constantly monitor the markets and economic landscape and adjust our plans in response. With challenging market conditions continuing into FY24 we have announced proposals for a small number of targeted restructurings across the firm, subject to consultation. We will remain disciplined around how we run our business, with a prudent focus on cash control and management.