KPMG promotes nine to partner in Deal Advisory practice

The Deal Advisory practice of KPMG has admitted nine new partners to its UK partnership. 

“Investing in our people lies at the very heart of KPMG’s strategy, so I am immensely proud to welcome the new partners to our partnership, alongside the new associate partners,” said Liz Claydon, head of KPMG’s Deal Advisory practice in the United Kingdom.

The new partners intake spans the full breadth of KPMG’s Deal Advisory wing, including one new partner in Corporate Finance (Gavin Quantock), two in Valuations (Matthew Warren, Lyuda Sokolova), two in Restructuring (Alistair McAlinden, James Clark), one in Integration & Separation (Andrew Burgess), and three in Transaction Services (Matt Parsons, Bridget Beals, Adam Sumner). 

Meanwhile, a further six professionals have been appointed as associate partners: Tim Nicholson (Debt Advisory), Paul Birrell and Roraigh Kirkness (Restructuring), Glenn Saunders and Simon Wormald (Transaction Services) and Axe Ali (Integration & Separation). They are joined by 24 colleagues promoted to director, while an additional 196 members of the Deal Advisory practice below the director level have been promoted to the next rank.

The promotions come at a mixed time for KPMG’s Deal Advisory practice. Some of its service lines are busier than ever, such as the Restructuring arm, which traditionally thrives in periods of economic downturn as businesses fall into administration or seek financial advisory support in order to weather the storm. Recent restructuring projects of KPMG in the UK are that of intu properties, Caffe Nero, Moss Bros, Joe Media and Croydon Park Hotel.

Meanwhile, the Transaction Services team has seen its deal portfolio slow down over the past six months as strategics and investors tightened their dealmaking belt. The practice has nonetheless been involved with several major deals, including Ineos’ acquisition of BP’s petrochemicals business; Octopus Energy and Octopus Group’s partnership and 20% equity stake sale to Origin Energy; the sale of Fishawack Health to Bridgepoint.

“It goes without saying that it has been a somewhat challenging year,” admitted Claydon, but “I’m proud of the incredible resilience that our teams have shown while working tirelessly to support our clients.” 

“All of these promotions are testament to the breadth of skills and diversity of capability that we have across Deal Advisory, the investment we are making in our talent, as well as the confidence we have in the wider market.”

The division leader’s confidence is grounded on a number of observations. For one, the M&A market is rebounding from its dip as many organisations are turning to inorganic growth to reshape their portfolios and divest of non-core operations. “And there still is a significant amount of private equity dry powder that is ready and waiting to be deployed.”

Second, with deals back on the radar, and a future that is much more uncertain, KPMG’s Valuations experts are being tapped to not only conduct but also revise valuations. Then, in the capital markets, “both IPOs and public-to-private transactions are back on the agenda,” she added, while demand for restructuring is expected to boom, in particular when the government winds down its Covid-19 economic support measures.

Claydon: “We certainly have reason to be cautiously optimistic about what lies ahead for our Deal Advisory business.”