Reading: KPMG to recruit 200 more people for new town-centre offices

KPMG UK has announced its strongest growth in a decade. The firm, which has five offices across the south and Wales: Reading, Bristol, Cardiff, Plymouth and the South Coast, saw revenues increase by 8% from £2,172 million to £2,338m for the financial year ended September 30, 2018 and underlying profit increased by 18% year on year to reach £356m.

Karen Witton, south regional chair for KPMG said: “In line with the wider firm, our business across the South West and Wales has had a very strong year. Alongside supporting businesses in our core capabilities of tax and audit, we have been in demand as companies plan for Brexit, respond to a changing consumer world and face cyber security risk. New in-house expertise such as our legal team in Reading and our new pensions and investments team in Bristol have helped support this growth.

“This year’s achievements have only been possible because of our excellent teams; they’re the backbone of our business and we continue to invest in them, promoting 126 people across the South this year, including two new partners and six new directors. We’ve also recruited record amounts of graduates and apprentices across the region as we invest in new talent.

“Another real highlight of this year was securing the move of our Thames Valley office from Theale to brand new offices, 2 Forbury Place, in the centre of Reading. This move which will happen in Autumn 2019, will allow our Reading teams to grow and we plan to recruit a further 200 people to be based there over the next three years.

“As ever, we have committed to supporting local communities: in Reading we have raised over £10,000 for Launchpad, a charity that works at preventing homelessness in Reading and in all of our offices across the south, staff took time out of the office to volunteer locally, such as our Bristol colleagues working with teenagers from deprived areas, helped them in key skills through the likes of mock interviews.”

Nationally, KPMG hired 1,365 new graduates and apprentices across the UK to support the firm’s growth. This was a record number since its 2011 intake and an increase of 22% in student recruitment on last year, with 48% of new roles based in the firm’s offices outside London. KPMG also introduced eight new specialist graduate technology training routes, offering graduates the opportunity to specialise in some of the most cutting-edge technological sectors, such as cyber security.