Professional services company EY has announced plans to double the size of its Advisory Services team in Bristol to 100 people over the next 12 months.

The firm will be recruiting graduates and experienced hires to join its local team, based at The Paragon building in Bristol. Over 20 graduates joined the Bristol office in 2017, with a further 15 expected to be recruited this year – a key measure of the firm’s intent to develop talent and grow its regional presence outside of London.

EY says this growth is in response to an increased demand for its services from the region’s businesses as they face greater challenges including; international growth, cost control and understanding the impact of the digitalisation of businesses.

EY’s 350-strong Bristol practice works with a wide variety of businesses across the South West and South Wales, ranging from large listed companies to mid-market and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Guy Turner, Associate Partner in EY’s Advisory Services practice in Bristol, says:

“We are recruiting to meet the growing demands of our clients and strengthening our focus on the impact of new technologies to support regional businesses. Our growing team offer a wide range of advisory service capabilities and work with companies to address complex industry issues to deliver outcomes that grow and protect our clients’ business.”

Andrew Perkins, Senior Partner at EY in the South West:

“This growth reflects EY’s investment in the South West and our commitment to developing local talent. We have big ambitions for our regional business after reporting strong growth in FY17 and we’re growing in line with the region’s economic success. Our recent EY Regional Economic Forecast revealed the South West economy is set to grow at a faster rate than the majority of UK regions and Bristol is expected to be one of the fastest growing cities over the next three years.”