Deloitte UK cuts the number of partner promotions by 25%, the latest sign of pressure on the Big Four

Deloitte UK has promoted fewer employees to the rank of partner than it did in 2024.

The Big Four firm said in a press release that 60 staff have achieved the coveted title in this year’s round of promotions, compared to 81 the year before.

Deloitte said that it had also converted 77 people from salaried to equity partner, which it said was more than double compared to last year.

“Our partnership remains critical to our firm’s culture and success in the market,” said Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, in a press release.

Partners are the firm’s most senior employees. Those who hold equity ownership in the business traditionally receive a share of annual profits, while non-equity partners receive a salary.

As market pressures have weighed on the Big Four, partner numbers and their payouts have been falling.

Houston said the appointment of more equity partners was “a sign of our confidence in our firm’s future and the growth opportunities ahead.”

It is not clear how many equity partners have left the UK division in the last year.

The promotions were announced in line with the close of Deloitte’s financial year on May 31. The firm’s annual financial results are released in September.

Annual revenue growth slowed to 2.4% in Deloitte’s UK division during the 2024 financial year, a sharp drop compared to the 14% growth in revenue for 2023.

A recent internal memo sent by Houston to UK staff, and seen by BI, hinted that pressures remain high.

Deloitte UK’s total profits for its 2025 financial year would be “slightly ahead of last year” but “below our original plan,” Houston wrote.

The firm would promote fewer employees across the board, and employees in the UK consulting division should only expect about 80% of their annual bonuses since they “fell materially short” of performance goals, Houston wrote in the memo.

The lower bonuses would also apply to partners in the consulting division.

Deloitte UK now has 1,356 partners, and the new additions bring the overall percentage of female partners to 31% and those coming from an ethnic minority background to 12%, the firm said.

Partner numbers at Deloitte’s Big Four rivals in the UK — PwC, KPMG, and EY — have dropped, according to a BI analysis of publicly available data.

In 2024, 124 partners left PwC, more than in the previous two years combined. EY’s partner total dropped by 43 in 2024, while KPMG marked at least its third consecutive year of declines in partner numbers.

Deloitte did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

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