By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) – Partners in EY are expected to give a huge thumbs up to spinning off the company’s consulting arm and listing it on the stock market by year end, a senior EY official said on Tuesday.

Over 13,000 partners – out of EY’s 365,400 staff – are due to vote on the divestiture plan in April with the outcome known quickly, said Marie-Laure Delarue, EY’s global vice chair for assurance and member of the company’s global executive.

“We expect a massive approval, but it’s not to say there is still not a lot of work to do,” Delarue told Reuters.

“A lot of our clients tell us it makes total sense, but you have to do it right. Regulators are, in general, supportive.”

(Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Jason Neely)