It brings to 628 the total number of partners in EY UK. Equity partners are the highest paid members of staff in any accounting firm. In the year to June 2013, EY had an average of 565 partners, who shared £368m of profit, an average distributable profit per partner of £651,000, up from £597,000 in the prior year. Steve Varley, chairman and managing partner, said that the promotions are a signal of the firm’s confidence in the UK’s future economic growth.