Deloitte UK advisory arm rebounds to growth as new boss insists AI ‘can’t replace lived experience’
Big Four giant Deloitte’s new UK boss, Darren Graves, insisted AI “can’t replace lived experience” as the firm’s advisory arms return to growth. Revenue for the year ended 31 May 2026 for the UK arm was up 2 per cent to £5.81bn, with growth across all businesses. The firm’s technology and transformation arm led with 4 [...]
Deloitte UK's advisory division reported a rebound to growth, with its revenue increasing by 2% to £5.81 billion for the year ending May 31, 2026. This growth was seen across all businesses under the UK arm. The technology and transformation arm led with a 4% growth, followed by audit and assurance at 3%, and tax and legal at 2%.
However, the strategy, risk, and transactions advisory group grew by only 1%, marking a significant improvement from last year's 10% decline. Distributable profit rose 14% to £899 million from £789 million, and the average profit per equity partner (PEP) increased by 7% to £1.125 million. The total number of equity partners also grew by 6.5% to 784, the highest annual total in Deloitte UK's history.
The firm's total UK tax contribution for the financial year amounted to £1.86 billion due to its large headcount. Deloitte increased its bonus pool by 14% and average in-grade salaries rose by over 4% following a hiring of 3,500 new staff. This growth follows a voluntary redundancy offer to its audit team earlier this year, as low attrition rates were noted.
CEO Darren Graves, who took over in June, emphasized that human judgment remains irreplaceable, stating that "AI can't replace lived experience or replicate the judgment and unwritten know-how built over years of working alongside clients and colleagues."
Written by urgent.news from City AM's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
