Grant Thornton offers graduates £5,000 golden hellos
Grant Thornton will pay London accounting graduate starters £40,000 plus a £5,000 ‘golden hello’ from September 2027, putting the firm above typical Big Four entry packages of about £30,000 to £36,000. The grant thornton accounting graduate package is designed to stop recruits treating the mid-tier firm as a second-choice employer.
Key Takeaways
- London starters will receive £40,000 from September 2027, an 18% rise on current first-year pay, plus a £5,000 golden hello.
- The bonus is paid in two instalments at the start and end of the training contract, according to Financial Times reporting.
- Typical Big Four London graduate pay sits around £30,000–£36,000, leaving Grant Thornton’s headline package ahead of peers.
- The overhaul includes advertised trainee salaries, partner sponsors from day one, and a mapped path toward partnership.
- Backed by Cinven’s 2024 investment, the firm aims to appoint 160 new partners by the end of 2027.
The private equity-backed firm is overhauling its early careers offer as it steps up competition for City talent. For more career and earnings coverage, see our Net Worth & Wealth hub.
How much will a Grant Thornton accounting graduate earn?
From the September 2027 intake, London juniors will start on £40,000. That figure is about 18% above current first-year levels and sits above rivals such as KPMG, which typically starts London graduates around £34,500, and EY packages ranging from £30,000 to £36,000.
PwC and Deloitte London graduate schemes are generally quoted between £30,000 and £35,000. Mid-tier peers such as BDO and Mazars often pay 10% to 20% less than the Big Four, City AM reported.
Alongside base pay, recruits will receive a £5,000 ‘golden hello’ split across the beginning and end of their training contract. Proportionate salary rises will also roll out for regional graduates, while school-leaver pay is set to stay market-leading.
Why is Grant Thornton raising graduate pay now?
Chief people officer Abigail Fisher said the firm is making a “significant investment” in how it recruits future partners and develops talent already inside the business. She wants staff to see a genuine path to partnership, backed by business development training at every level.
Fisher has also framed the higher starting pay as a signal that Grant Thornton should not be viewed as a second choice to Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. The move follows limited junior salary growth across accounting even as trainee corporate lawyers can earn as much as £70,000 in their first year.
Grant Thornton partners backed a £1.5bn investment from Cinven in 2024. The firm reached 282 partners in the first half of the year, up 9%, with 41 new equity partners appointed over the last year.
What else is changing in the early careers programme?
Launching in September 2027, the redesigned scheme is built as a direct pathway from trainee to partner rather than a qualifications-only track. Juniors will get a named partner sponsor from day one, stronger client exposure, and international secondments.
Training is split into “ascent,” covering fully funded professional qualifications, and “summit,” which adds post-qualification mentoring toward partnership. Grant Thornton will also advertise all trainee salaries in job postings for the first time and introduce milestone bonuses into junior pay.
As the UK’s sixth-largest accounting firm by revenue, it is targeting 160 new partners by the end of 2027 while competing harder for the next generation of City accountants.