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The proforma figures, which combine the financial position of Grant Thornton UK LLP and the newly created Grant Thornton UK Advisory & Tax LLP, paint a picture of a firm investing heavily in talent and technology while continuing to grow against a subdued professional services market.

Net revenue rose 3% to £747.9m, while adjusted operating profit climbed 30% to £188.6m from £144.6m the previous year. After separately disclosed items totalling £161.9m, reported operating profit stood at £26.7m.

The firm reported a combined loss available for discretionary division of £142.8m after separately disclosed items of £305.0m, compared with a profit of £108.6m in 2024, reflecting one-off costs associated with the Cinven transaction and the introduction of new long-term incentive arrangements.

Performance across the three main service lines was uneven. Audit delivered the strongest growth, rising 11% to £267.0m, while Tax revenues climbed 9% to £153.8m.

Advisory, the largest division by revenue at £366.3m, contracted by 3%, which the firm attributed to softer demand that it believes was market-wide during 2025. UK-sourced revenue totalled £673.4m, with the balance generated across the rest of Europe and the rest of the world.

The Cinven investment, which received regulatory approval before completing at the end of the first quarter, required Grant Thornton to adopt a new legal structure.

The audit business has been retained within Grant Thornton UK LLP, with audit partners continuing to hold the majority of voting rights to safeguard quality and independence, while the advisory and tax practice was transferred to the new Grant Thornton UK Advisory & Tax LLP, whose members include audit partners, advisory and tax partners, and Cinven.

Average compensation per non-corporate equity member came in at £686,000, marginally ahead of the £682,000 reported in 2024, against a backdrop of significant partner recruitment. The firm appointed 39 new partners during 2025 and now intends to recruit a further 160 partners over the next two years, taking total partner numbers well beyond the current count of 280.

An Employee Benefit Trust was also established, holding equity in Pacioli Topco (Jersey) Limited to reward senior talent below partner level, and a £39m exceptional bonus was paid to employees during the year.

The balance sheet has strengthened materially, with net assets rising to £107.3m from £44.4m. Cash and cash equivalents climbed to £177.1m from £47.6m, providing the firm with significant firepower to support its growth ambitions. A new share-based payment liability of £73.6m was recognised on the statement of net assets, reflecting the long-term incentive arrangements put in place following the Cinven deal.

In a notable de-risking move, the trustees of the defined benefit pension scheme purchased a bulk annuity policy on 28 May 2025 covering all liabilities of the plan, with the longer-term objective of moving to a full buyout. The transaction reduced net pension liabilities from £32.8m to £2.6m.

Chief executive Malcolm Gomersall described 2025 as a year of “bold, deliberate choices”, with the firm subsequently announcing a £500m technology investment in early 2026 to overhaul client experience through digital innovation.