KPMG makes two senior hires in deal advisory wing

Big Four firm KPMG has bolstered its special situations and turnaround teams with two senior hires. The professional services company has welcomed Sharon Taylor and Lloyd Williams aboard as Managing Directors.

KPMG’s deal advisory practice is encountering keen demand at present. Despite the adverse economic conditions, merger and acquisition activity remains high – in part due to buyers looking to snap up struggling firms that enhance their portfolio. To help handle this rise in demand, KPMG has added to experts to its deal advisory wing.

Sharon Taylor joins the firm’s special situations team from PwC, where she held a range of senior roles both in the UK and South Africa. She has over 20 years of experience, including financial restructuring, having worked with corporates, lenders and various stakeholders across a range of industries.

Reflecting on her appointment, Taylor noted, “I’m delighted to be joining KPMG and to be working with an incredibly talented team. It’s a challenging time for many of our clients who are facing ‘the perfect storm’ of economic turbulence, with rising inflation and interest rates placing pressure on input and trading costs, energy cost increases and continued supply chain disruption. Business leaders need to understand the impact of these on liquidity and develop plans which will preserve value.”

Lloyd Williams meanwhile arrives at KPMG’s turnaround group, with over 30 years of international experience, covering restructuring, turnaround, private equity and investment banking. He previously held senior roles with Deutsche Bank, Kuwait Finance House and NorthEdge, and has significant experience with private equity-backed businesses, having led transformation projects across multiple sectors.

Williams noted, “I’m excited to be joining a strong team of advisors as we expand our offering in the market. I’m looking forward to working with the team to deliver turnarounds and bespoke solutions to our clients, in what is an increasingly complex and rapidly changing environment.”

KPMG’s special situations and turnaround team forms part of the firm’s deal advisory practice in the UK. The multi-disciplinary wing enables KPMG’s special situations and turnaround team to deliver a bespoke, solutions-led approach to help companies navigate back to a path of sustainable value growth. Looking ahead, the two Managing Directors will focus on helping to preserve and restore value to organisations that may be facing a period of financial uncertainty.

David Fletcher, Partner and Head of Special Situations and Turnaround at KPMG UK, concluded, “Sharon and Lloyd are strong senior additions to our rapidly growing team, and they have joined at a pivotal time for our clients. It is great to have them on board to bring further depth to our team, complementing the senior hires we announced in the summer. These appointments are another great example of our ongoing investment in our services, as we continue to support our clients through the whole economic cycle.”