Grant Thornton UK LLP has today (05 April 2022) published its 2021 Annual Report, showing further sustainable improvements throughout the year and a solid foundation for future growth.
Building on the firm’s strategy, introduced in 2019 and which embedded Quality, Talent and Value into its operations, the firm saw net revenue growth of 15% to £543m and profit before tax rose by 37% to £116m in 2021, on a like-for-like basis.
| Calendar year (£m) | 2020 | 2021 |
| Net revenue | 474 | 543 |
| Profit before tax | 85 | 116 |
Whilst disruptions caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic continued as a dominant theme in 2021, the firm’s successful implementation of hybrid working saw it continue to provide seamless quality of service to its clients and adopt further measures to support the wellbeing of its people, such as the introduction of a hybrid working framework and flexible holidays. A recent survey of its people found that the firm’s approach to hybrid working has helped improve people’s productivity and mental wellbeing; and the firm was also recognised as a top 10 employer for working families in 2021, in recognition of its approach to flexible working. Throughout the year, the firm continued to invest in talent and increased its total number of people by 12% to just over 5,100, including a record intake of trainees. The firm also added over 30 people to the partnership.
2021 also saw Grant Thornton continue its investment in quality across the Firm, particularly in audit where it has strengthened its offering over recent years and its ‘significant improvement’ was recognised by one of our regulators, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), in its annual review of audit quality. Following the introduction of its Audit Investment Plan in 2019, the firm has continued to invest in people, technologies and processes which place quality at the heart of its operations. In a separate internal survey across all parts of the business, the firm’s employees reported feeling better supported in delivering high quality work through team encouragement, recognition and training and development than had been the case in previous years, along with a significant uplift in feelings of pride, with 90% of people saying they feel proud to work for Grant Thornton (a 7% year-on-year increase).
Grant Thornton’s investments in people and quality are also increasingly being recognised by its clients. In an independent market survey of over 670 clients, 90% said they were likely to recommend the firm’s services to others and 98% consider Grant Thornton to be ‘good’ or ‘great’ for client service.
Dave Dunckley, who the firm recently announced would serve a second term as its CEO, commented: “2021 was an outstanding year for the firm and our success is down to the commitment and dedication of our people, who have once again risen to the challenges of operating throughout the pandemic to deliver exceptionally strong results for our clients. From supporting our people through the second year of a global pandemic, to navigating how we work in a truly hybrid way, to delivering work of the highest quality for our clients and achieving such strong financial results, our people have collectively pushed boundaries and gone beyond expectations.”
Whilst the firm experienced strong revenue and profit growth across all of its service lines, affording it the ability to invest a record 15% of trading profits in annual bonuses for its people, Grant Thornton’s deals and business consulting team saw an unprecedented 40% rise in revenues, owing to exceptionally buoyant demand for M&A advisory services in 2021.
Dunckley continued: “We know that some of the exceptional market conditions and elements which drove our overall performance in 2021 are unlikely to be recurring in future years; however I am confident that the foundations of the firm, focused on our quality, talent and value, will continue to see us performing strongly and sustainably into the future.”