Mazars purchases medical auditing specialist Hall Liddy

Professional services firm Mazars has added specialist accountancy Hall Liddy to its UK offering, giving it access to 2,600 clients across the medical sector. The transaction also adds over 30 new staff to Mazars’ Manchester office, along with Hall Liddy’s team of Directors.

The declining reputation of the auditing and advisory sector’s Big Four is having  a knock-on effect on other firms in the sector looking to eat into their market share. With Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG having been routinely criticised for the quality of their accounting work in recent times, mid-tier professional services companies have sought to bolster their headcounts and capacities to take advantage of the new work this potentially sends their way. One such firm is Mazars, which recently won a lucrative contract with the UK entity of Goldman Sachs, the first time the auditing gig has been handed to a firm outside of the Big Four.

The news came on the back of Mazars’ consistent efforts to grow its capabilities in recent months. At the end of 2018, a recruitment drive across the North West was reported to have added more than 50 appointments to Mazars’ Manchester and Liverpool offices in under 12 months. The tally across the firm’s offices in the region were largely attributed to a significant investment in young talent, with the audit and accountancy teams in the area having welcomed 12 graduates and school leavers.

Now, as Mazars looks to further boost its credentials in the UK auditing scene and add to its 1,700 employees, it has completed a deal for medical accountancy Hall Liddy for an undisclosed fee. The move sees Mazars gain access to Hall Liddy’s 2,600 clients, which generated a total fee income of £1.6 million in the firm's most recent Companies House filing.

Speaking on the move Margaret Laidlaw, Mazars Head of Entrepreneurial Business, said, “The healthcare sector has always been extremely important to us, and we are constantly looking for ways to help our clients manage and grow their businesses. Hall Liddy has established an unrivalled reputation in the sector thanks to its expertise and focus on its clients, qualities which we will nurture and build upon as a national healthcare team.”

Established in Manchester in 1992, Hall Liddy serves firms in the medical sector including GP practices, salaried GPs, locums, hospital doctors and consultants, as well as barristers and retired professionals. Over the last 27 years, the firm’s headcount has grown to 31 members of staff, and the whole team will now become part of Mazars’ Manchester office, helping the professional services firm to respond to the increasingly digitised needs of health sector clients via Mazars’ cloud-based accounting and outsourcing services.

Tim Hudson, Managing Partner for Mazars’ Manchester office, commented, “This move reflects the strong demand for specialist advice and expertise across the North West. We are delighted to continue our impressive growth in our core markets and services, and to continue to invest in talented teams with specialist sector experience.”

The existing management team of Directors at Hall Liddy will also become part of Mazars. Des Liddy, Andrew Pow and Melanie Thomas, are to become part of Mazars’ 140-strong UK Partner team following the acquisition, while the fourth Director, David Hall, arrives at the firm on a consultancy basis. 

Liddy said of the acquisition, “Having worked with GP practices and medical consultants for nearly 30 years, we understand that the sector requires specialist knowledge and a thorough understanding of the specific challenges and issues the sector faces. The healthcare landscape is changing: joining Mazars will allow us to offer a broader range of advisory services for clients combined with adoption of the latest technology, tools and systems, while seamlessly maintaining the bespoke service and personal relationships our clients value.”