Grant Thornton launches an economic consulting practice
Professional services firm Grant Thornton has launched an Economic Consulting practice in the UK, serving clients in both the private and public sector.
The move sees Grant Thornton expand its strategic and advisory portfolio with a range of areas of expertise, including advising companies on economic approaches within corporate and business unit strategy, mergers & acquisitions, valuations, restructuring and business cases for innovation.
The new wing will also provide economic advice supporting competition and litigation matters, acting as expert witnesses in High Court disputes and international arbitration hearings. In the public sector, Grant Thornton’s Economic Consulting practice will offer expert insights public policy, investment (including public private partnerships) and financing.
“The development of an Economic Consulting practice is an exciting step for the firm,” said Robert Hannah, Head of Large and Complex Advisory at Grant Thornton. “As well as providing a new advisory offering, the practice will, perhaps more importantly, have the skill set to work with teams across the firm to provide complimentary, specialist economic support to our existing client base.”
The practice will on cross-border cases work closely together with the firm’s international Economic Consulting community, which is led out of the United States.
A duo at the helm
Leading the new service line is the duo Chris Williams and Schellion Horn, both of which bring extensive experience in the field.
Chris Williams joins the firm as a partner, with previous experience in leading Economic Consulting functions at other large consulting firms Alvarez & Marsal (most recently) and Deloitte. Before that, he spent thirteen years with KPMG, latterly as a partner.
Williams has considerable experience as an economic expert witness, providing testimony in relation to the High Court, international arbitrations and competition courts in numerous countries. He also leads economic advisory work across the economy, with notable experience in the financial services, TMT, and consumer sectors.
Schellion Horn also joins the firm as a partner with over 20 years of experience as a competition economist assisting corporate clients, government, private equity and their legal advisors in the UK and internationally. Her experience includes large scale market investigations, subsidy control, regulatory enquiries and competition damages in an advisory and expert witness capacity.
Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Horn was at Alvarez & Marsal, where she was a Managing Director in its Economics practice. Earlier in her career, she worked for FTI Consulting, Deloitte and PwC, among others.
Speaking on the launch, Williams said; “The scope of the practice will be far reaching, and we look forward to both leading new economic advisory work and also working closely with colleagues from across the firm to enhance existing offerings with economics solutions and advice. The offering should add a new dimension to the firm’s service offerings and support the firm’s client base on a much broader scale.”
In the UK, Grant Thornton has over 4,500 professionals led by a 190-strong partner team.
