PwC partners see payouts fall even as revenue grows

The annual payout of PwC is set to decline from 2022’s record haul, as the UK consulting sector encounters headwinds amid the country’s sluggish economic performance. Revenues for the firm are still growing quickly, however, thanks to a spike in demand from work in the Middle East.

PwC’s UK results also include the firm’s Middle Eastern business, which has been a meteoric driver for growth in its consulting wing. The economic modernisation campaigns of Gulf states – such as the Vision 2030 campaign of Saudi Arabia – looking to diversify the region away from a dependence on oil has seen demand rise quickly for PwC’s services across the Middle East.

Thanks to this, PwC’s group UK results saw a 30% expansion in consulting business revenues, which climbed from £1.3 billion to £1.7 billion. There have been significant costs which the firm also has to countenance in the last year, however.

PwC invested £100 million in new technology, while it boosted its British headcount from 24,500 to 26,000. Amid the cost-of-living crisis, this came with additional responsibilities; the company said in a statement that it paid about half of its workforce an extra £1,500 over five months, to help them cope with booming winter energy bills.

As a result, even as revenues climb, the annual payout for partners at PwC has taken a hit this year. In 2022, PwC’s partners celebrated their highest-ever personal rewards, each taking home £1 million each, as their record £920,000 basic pay was topped up by a £100,000 bonus – linked to the £1.7 billion sale of a business providing tax advice for clients moving staff overseas, to US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

With no landmark sale occurring in 2023, there will be no such bonus this time round. Meanwhile, PwC’s 1,000 UK partners will see their pay fall slightly to £906,000.

In spite of this, UK Chair and Senior Partner Kevin Ellis commented that there were reasons to be optimistic at PwC. Noting “a backdrop of political and economic upheaval,” Ellis argued the multidisciplinary business continued to chart a strong course, due to “the adaptability of our business in supporting our clients and is a credit to the talent of our people.”

He added, “The economy may be sluggish but it is also changing as new technologies and the climate emergency change production and consumption. We will continue to invest in skills and technology so we can help our clients and communities adapt. This way we can address the unknowns with confidence – both the challenges and opportunities.”