Trio of professionals join Grant Thornton SW and Wales deals team

Grant Thornton have announced a number of new hires across its South West and Wales offices. The Adam Hughes, James Smart and Thomas Bew arrive amid an intensive period of deals activity.

The deals market has remained resilient throughout the pandemic, and activity reached record levels in 2021 as investors sought out quality assets. Both IPOs and public-to-private transactions continue at a steady pace, and there is ample private equity dry powder at the ready to keep deals rising into 2022. As a result, consulting firms supporting deals in the UK economy are experiencing heightened demand.

Grant Thornton currently has a  team of over 100 people advising on mid-market M&A nationally. The firm team has a focus on key sectors and regions with Wales and the South West being one of those.

With offices in Bristol and Cardiff, the Grant Thornton deals team led by partner Trefor Griffith and director Jamie Roberts, has had a record year, having recently advised on two successive Insider Deals of the Month and on a range of high profile transactions. In the last year, these have included advising the shareholders of building products manufacturer Taylor Maxwell on the sale of the business for up to £63 million to Brickability, and leading the sale, on behalf of Sodexo, of South Wales-based Tillery Valley Foods, a key NHS supplier, to private equity-backed food manufacturer Joubere.

As the team in the South West and Wales prepares to build on this momentum, it has recruited three new professionals. Bringing a decade of financial services experience to the team, Adam Hughes joins as an Associate Director, from the Natwest Structured Finance team. He will now lead the debt advisory function in the region.

Meanwhile, former Saffery Champness Senior James Smart joins as an Assistant Manager. Arriving in the same role, Thomas Bew joins after a three-year spell at EY, where he was latterly a Senior Assurance Associate.

Trefor Griffith said of the appointments, “We are delighted to have been able to add to our successful and high performing regional team with the recruitment of Adam, James and Thomas. It’s important that we keep on investing in the best talent to continue providing the highest possible levels of service as our clients seek to explore and realise opportunities presented by the current M&A environment.”