KPMG UK bolsters deal advisory team with partner promotions

KPMG UK has confirmed the appointment of nine new partners across its deal advisory practice. The promotions round off a year of record deal activity for the team.

The mergers and acquisitions market has remained resilient throughout the pandemic, however activity reached record levels in 2021 as investors sought out quality assets. This in turn saw record levels of deal activity and a number of landmark transactions handled by KPMG’s deal advisory team in the UK.

The Head of KPMG UK’s Deal Advisory practice Liz Claydon, commented, “In terms of capital markets, both IPOs and public-to-private transactions continue at a steady pace, and there is ample private equity dry powder at the ready. Whilst there’s a shadow of uncertainty around the short-term economic outlook with the new variant, we know that the focus for all will ultimately be on recovery and growth. Our deal advisory and strategy practice has an incredibly important role to play in this, as businesses and investors look to navigate challenges and explore value creation opportunities.”

At the same time, a number of sectors continue to perform very strongly, including technology and business services, and many are seeking acquisitions as a means of growth, while others are looking to simplify and focus on their core business by divesting. With the trend for heightened deal activity looking set to continue, KPMG has bolstered its deal advisory team with the promotion of nine new partners.

Emily Watkins has been named a Partner in deal analytics, helping the firm provide strategic profitability insights to clients. Anthony Ball is now a Partner in corporate finance, focusing on healthcare M&A, and Gwyn Llewelyn is promoted to the same role in corporate finance, but focusing on infrastructure advisory work. Elsewhere, Ashish Sarkar becomes a Partner in the strategy group, specialising in financial services, strategy and performance transformation. KPMG also promoted Francesca Scottwithin the strategy group, focusing on synergies and public company work.

Meanwhile, Guan Yeo was promoted within the transaction advisory services (TAS) wing centring on consumer industries, and Mark Harper was elevated in the strategy group, also focusing on consumer sector deal execution. Simon Wormald has been promoted in TAS, and will specialise in private and public sector healthcare deals, alongside Wafa Jafri, who is also in TAS but will focus on energy transition strategy work.

Speaking on the moves, Liz Claydon added, “These promotions reflect the growth, dedication and hard work of my colleagues, in what has been a year like no other. These also demonstrate our commitment to invest in our people, sectors and insights. I’m immensely proud of the nine newly appointed partners and the many other colleagues who have progressed. I look forward to supporting them in their continued success. Investing in our people lies at the very heart of our Deal Advisory strategy, and each of my colleagues bolsters the extensive expertise we offer our clients.”

Two other partner appointments were made within the deals advisory practice earlier in 2021. Chris Croft and Tim Nicholson joined the partnership from corporate finance. Beyond that, a further 24 colleagues across the practice have been promoted to director, while 151 have been promoted to a range of roles from assistant manager to associate director.