Grant Thornton names Akshay Bhalla as new Partner
As it looks to boost its India-UK offering, Grant Thornton has named a new Partner to its London office. Akshay Bhalla will now look to grow the firm’s offering to businesses trading between Britain and India.
Since the advent of Brexit, multiple trade expeditions have made noises about the importance of securing a trade deal between Britain and India. As relationships between the two economies grow closer, many UK firms are already testing the waters – and Grant Thornton research suggests that trade from Britain to India could double by the end of the decade.
As the firm looks to support clients on this front, Grant Thornton is executing a campaign of strategic investment in the expansion of its South Asia Business Group. To that end, it’s UK wing had confirmed the appointment of Akshay Bhalla as Partner. A former Office Managing Partner with KPMG India, Bhalla joins Grant Thornton’s London-based team, where he will work alongside the firm’s Head of South Asia Business Group – Anuj Chande.
Chande commented, “We welcome Akshay to London and to Grant Thornton. Our South Asia Business Group has historically had three broad areas of market focus, namely advising UK corporates investing in India, Indian corporates investing in the UK and lastly the South Asian diaspora owning and managing businesses in the UK. The chosen market is growing, and the imminent India-UK Free Trade Agreement is likely to help propel further growth.”
Through the UK firm’s South Asia Business Group, Grant Thornton UK and Grant Thornton Bharat have had a strong history of strong collaboration over three decades. Looking ahead, Bhalla will work with partners from both firms to build deeper connections and implement the strategic collaboration goals for both firms.
A key priority will be working with UK headquartered Multinational Corporations looking to adopt India for their Global Capability Centres. Bhalla will also focus on relationship building with the increasing number of Global Indians, who are making the UK their base, whilst maintaining connections with India and other parts of the world such as Singapore and Dubai.
Speaking on his new challenge, Akshay added, “Grant Thornton’s South Asia Business Group has a market-leading position in the UK/India corridor and has a strong reputation with clients, contacts, influencers, intermediaries and respective governments. I am excited to play a leadership role in the next phase of growth as we look to expand the footprint and focus areas of the service offering.”
