Professional services firm EY has seen its UK turnover rise by 8.6 per cent to £1.8 billion for the year ending June 2014.

The firm also saw distributable profits up by 12 per cent from £368 million to £412 million.

Globally the firm reported revenues of £16.9 billion for the same period – representing a 6.8 per cent rise compared to the previous year.

EY enjoyed a successful year in the Midlands, with a number of regional highlights.

Client wins included Dignity, Biffa, GKN and the National Exhibition Centre and the firm welcomed 274 new starters, meaning its Birmingham office at One Colmore Square now employs almost 800 people.

The Midlands also saw 380 internal promotions and EY invested £3 million in the ongoing refurbishment of its Birmingham office.

In September the firm increased its Midlands graduate intake by 30 per cent - up from 31 in 2013 to 44. 

Sara Fowler, EY’s senior partner in the Midlands, said: “Our strong performance in the Midlands, which was aligned with EY’s UK-wide performance during 2014, was underpinned by continued investment in our people and expansion across our service lines – including new client wins and a strategy to achieve our growth targets.

“In 2010, we set ourselves a growth strategy in the Midlands to increase our revenue and we’re delighted to have achieved this target last year. We’ve now set ourselves an ambitious growth plan to nearly double our revenue by 2020.

“In particular, our ability to collaborate internationally has given us significant competitive advantage in the market. Entrepreneurial businesses in the Midlands are targeting opportunities around the world as their markets improve and we are helping clients to expand across borders.”

Speaking about the firm’s performance across the UK, Steve Varley, its UK chairman, said: “Critical to EY’s market leading growth in the UK is our global strength together with deep local connections in each of our 21 offices in the UK. 

“Our ability to collaborate internationally has given us significant competitive advantage in helping our clients expand across borders. 

“Our commitment to a long term investment strategy in the UK, especially through the recession, continues to pay off.”