James Wanless joins Houlihan Lokey as director
Houlihan Lokey has continued its European expansion by adding a dealmaker for its business services dealmaking team. James Wanless will focus on the built environment and facilities services sectors.
Founded in 1972, Houlihan Lokey has offices in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. With expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring, and valuation, the professional services firm serves corporations, institutions, and governments worldwide.
James Wanless joins the firm from DC Advisory, where he was a director in the business and tech-enabled services team, with a focus on the professional services and built environment sectors. Prior to this, he also spent over eight years with Deloitte where, having qualified as a chartered accountant, he was a member of the M&A advisory team.
Recent transactions that Wanless worked on include Rockpool’s sale of Mecsia to Synova; YFM’s sale of RGE Services to Equistone; Equistone’s sale of Acuity to Permira and OMERS’ acquisition of Bionic.
Commenting on the news, Wanless told Consultancy.uk, “Houlihan Lokey has an outstanding reputation in our industry, given its depth of sector knowledge and breadth of financial sponsor coverage, as well as its market-leading capital markets advisory capabilities. I am delighted to have joined the team and look forward to contributing to the continued success of the firm.”
Houlihan Lokey’s global business services group is led by Ranon Kent, now has some 180 bankers covering 13 sectors and over 130 subsectors. Looking ahead, as part of the 40-strong business services team at Houlihan Lokey’s European wing, Wanless will work to build out the firm’s built environment and facilities services offerings.
