EY to treble Birmingham consulting practice

EY has revealed plans to double the size of its UK and Ireland consulting practice in the next four years, backed by £75m of investment.

This is in addition to the £95m that the firm has already invested in its consulting practice since 2020.

As part of this growth, EY 's Birmingham-based consulting practice is aiming to treble its headcount, expanding from over 160 people to over 500 by 2026.

The substantial growth plans will see EY Consulting in the UK & Ireland increase headcount from 5,100 to around 10,200 people by 2026. More than half of the new roles will be based outside of London, in cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The expansion is being fuelled by increasing demand from clients implementing large scale, strategic transformation programmes, enabled by technology, data, and people.

The new recruits will reinforce the firm 's existing strengths in Finance, Risk, Supply Chain, Change Management, Cultural Transformation, and Strategy, and boost skills in areas including: SAP, Microsoft, ServiceNow, Cloud, Data Analytics, and Cyber.

Simon O 'Neill (pictured), office managing partner at EY in the Midlands, said: “This represents a significant investment in our Midlands-based Consulting practice and is part of our ambition to increase our business in the Midlands.

“Creating new jobs and expanding our existing capabilities across technology, transformation and strategy are all critical in supporting the success of our Midlands-based clients as well as playing our part in contributing to the growth of the regional economy and its competitiveness.

“Attracting and retaining the right skills and experience across all levels of the business, including graduates, apprentices, and partners is absolutely critical, helping us to continue to deliver an exceptional client experience, as well as deliver on our people priorities, facilitating new opportunities and exploring new ways of working. ”