PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), the market leading professional services firm, today announced turnover¹ growth of 4% to £2,331m up from £2,248m in the previous year, with underlying net revenue² also increasing 4% to £2,069m.

Commenting on the firm's results nationally, Ian Powell, PwC UK Chairman and Senior Partner, commented:

"While we see some signs of an economic recovery, the continued competitiveness of the UK economy remains challenging.  I remain convinced that as a firm we took the right decision last year to hold our nerve and continue to recruit and invest in our business. These investments included the recruitment in the UK of 1,750 people, 57 new partners, a strategic alliance with our Middle East network firms and a new and environmentally leading London office and the acquisition of the Paragon consulting business.

"Despite the challenging environment our advisory business achieved strong turnover growth of 9% to £804m (including a 15% increase in net revenues for our consulting business), our assurance business performed well achieving turnover growth of 4% to £893m while our tax practice saw a small decline of 2% to £634m. The 2% decline in our partner profit share from £777,000 to £759,000 reflects our investment strategy.

"As a business we have been able to build momentum which means we are well placed to focus on the significant growth opportunities we have identified."

Mark Smith, regional chairman at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Midlands, added:

"Given the tough economic and market backdrop, we have delivered a good, solid set of results here in the Midlands, which are in line with those reported at a national level. The last financial year has seen the firm working closely with local companies and across the public sector to help our clients navigate through the recession and prepare for opportunities that should arise as the UK returns to positive, albeit modest, growth.

"We have continued to invest in our business locally and have recently promoted three new partners and 10 new directors in the Midlands to further enhance the range and depth of services we bring to our clients. We look forward to welcoming over 90 graduates later this month, many of who are from universities in the Midlands, highlighting our continued commitment to investing in talent from the region."

Highlights from the 2009/2010 financial year include;

•       Placed first in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers survey;

•       Voted number one in the Guardian's UK300 survey at the National Graduate Target Awards;

•       The highest and only ranked professional services firm in this year's Business Superbrands listing at number 10;

•       Fourth in The Sunday Times Best Companies survey, an increase from seventh position in the previous year;

•       Admitted 57 new full equity partners including 19 direct entry partners;

•       4,865 of our people donated over 42,000 hours to a wide range of activities focused on education, employability and environment, in addition to their personal volunteering efforts;

•       Total community contributions totalled £8.1million (cash, time and in-kind support) compared with £7.9m in FY09.

¹ Turnover represents amounts recoverable from clients for professional services provided during the year, excluding Value Added Tax

² Underlying net revenue represents amounts excluding client disbursements