Ian Durrans and Ian Whitlock join Eight Advisory in UK

Eight Advisory has appointed Ian Durrans and Ian Whitlock as a Senior Advisor and Partner, respectively. The firm is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Established in 2009 in France by eight former Partners of the Big Four and Arthur Andersen, Eight Advisory has since grown to over 50 partners and 440 staff. The firm has offices in Paris, Lyon, Nantes, Mumbai and London, and boasts a growing client base that comes with that international profile.

As the expanding consultancy seeks to address a growing demand from businesses for dedicated financial and operational advice around transactions, Eight Advisory has conducted a sustained raid on the talent pool of the world’s largest advisory and audit firms. In Spring 2018, Steve Taylor arrived as a Partner from EY, taking up the leadership of the firm’s valuation practice. This was followed by the twin-hire of Tim Wainwright and Dean Lake – both of whom were also former Partners at the Big Four firm – recruited to help Eight Advisory develop its operational due diligence and transaction tax practices, respectively.

In the year since, the firm’s performance in the UK has been particularly noteworthy, having seen its London operation expand by 100% over the last 12 months alone. This saw the firm surpass the £10 billion mark in completed transactions, having been involved in several high-profile transactions recently, including the sale of Alliance Automotive Group to Genuine Parts Company, multiple carve-outs from BBA and the acquisition of Tarsus by Charterhouse Capital Partners.

Now, as Eight Advisory looks to meet its latest spike in demand, while celebrating its 10th anniversary in business, it has announced two new senior hires.

Tim Wainwright, Operations Partner, UK, said, “At Eight Advisory we are building a team that is able to serve clients on a national and international basis ensuring we maximise value from transactions. Our pre-deal and post-deal advisors bring deep expertise in both deal delivery and value creation supported by an entrepreneurial approach.”

Ian Whitlock arrives from EY, where he was previously a Partner in the firm’s Transaction Advisory Services practice, specialising in providing transaction advisory services to clients in the energy sector. He joins as a Partner in Eight Advisory's Infrastructure transactions team in London, with over 20 years of experience providing buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence, transaction support and SPA advice. He has significant experience working with global clients on large, complex cross border transactions and he has helped clients with over 250 transactions.

Ian Durrans joins Eight Advisory from PwC, having spent 36 years at the Big Four player. He was latterly a Senior Partner in the firm’s Transaction Services deal team, and at Eight Advisory he will use this weighty experience to work as a Senior Advisor in Transaction Services. His focus will be on developing both private equity and corporate clients to ensure they receive maximum value during transactions, focusing on both acquisitions and divestments.

Justin Welstead, UK Managing Partner at Eight Advisory, said of the news, “We’re delighted to welcome Ian Durrans and Ian Whitlock to our UK operations as we strengthen the team for further growth in 2020 and beyond. We continue to invest heavily in our London operations and we look forward to building on the success of the last decade.”