Consultancy formerly known as Moore Stephens rebrands globally
London-headquartered accounting and consulting network Moore Stephens has commenced its rebuilding project with the global rebrand of its operations. BDO and Tilney both purchased large portions of the firm’s UK outfit in the last year, and as the remaining assets of Moore look to the future, the firm has dropped Stephens from its brand.
Moore Stephens was founded as Moore, Partridge & Co in 1907 before evolving to Moore, Stephens & Co in 1918. In 1986, the firm established itself with its present name, and had traded under Moore Stephens ever since. Now, however, the firm finds itself looking to set itself apart from that century-old identity following a succession of purchases which have drastically changed the make-up of the consultancy.
In 2018, reports broke that Moore Stephens was in talks with BDO regarding the sale of its auditing wing, and by Spring 2019 that deal had seen BDO become the UK’s fifth largest professional services firm. Early 2019 also saw investment and financial planning group Tilney acquire the wealth management business of Moore Stephens, creating a firm with combined assets under advisement of £340 million.
As Moore Stephens looks to move on from this and build its global operations, then, the firm has opted to rebrand. After more than 100 years, the firm has dropped Stephens from its moniker, re-launching its global accounting and consultancy network as simply Moore. The unveiling of a new logo, visual identity and brand positioning is intended to mark the continued evolution of the London-headquartered network of more than 260 independent firms in 112 countries, with a professional community of more than 30,000 people.
Commenting on the move, Moore Global CEO Anton Colella said, “With our new brand – Moore – we choose a new identity fit for a world defined by global decision making, data-driven insight and the need for agility in all that we do. The brand captures our ability to connect to you locally and globally as we help you realise your ambitions… As we look to the future, our brand honours our Moore Stephens heritage, reflecting the strengths that clients can always expect from us: straightforward advice, high quality, and the passion we bring every day to our belief that relationships with clients are about much more than simply a job.”
Moore's decision to harmonise its brand as it bids to push into a new period of growth fits with a continuing trend in the consulting industry. Firms which build networks often look to integrate members into their single brand in order to show clients they can expect a uniform set of professional standards and service offerings wherever they are. For that reason, in 2015 RSM, the world’s seventh largest audit, tax and consulting network, announced it would combine the brand name of all its member firms worldwide, while 2018 saw the 200 firms of the Crowe Global network similarly adopt a unified identity.
