Grant Thornton joins forces with private equity firm Cinven

26 November 2024 Consultancy.uk

Grant Thornton has secured a major new funding deal with Cinven. The private equity investment follows a similar move by the professional services network’s US member earlier in 2024.

Malcolm Gomersall, CEO of Grant Thornton UK, said, “This investment in our business is a testament to the hard work of everyone at Grant Thornton UK and the exciting opportunity that lies ahead. Cinven’s proactive and thoughtful approach to partnering with management teams, the value they place on culture and their articulation of how they could reinforce and enhance our commitment to audit quality was a key differentiator in our decision to partner with them. I look forward to working with the Cinven team to continue the firm’s strong growth trajectory.”

Dating back to 1904, Grant Thornton has more than 5,500 employees across 20 offices in the UK – with more than 240 partners. While the UK’s professional services sector is enduring muted growth at the moment, this position means that it is seen as an attractive prospect for investors – something which may mean it can avoid the workforce realignments seen at many of the industry’s largest firms currently.

The Cinven deal, which is subject to partner approval, will see the private equity firm draw on its deep knowhow in the financial and business services, to help build Grant Thornton’s platform and prospects for sustained growth. Following the completion of the deal, Grant Thornton’s partner base will remain invested in the business as a significant shareholder alongside Cinven funds.

Maxim Crewe, head of Cinven’s financial services sector team, and Rory Neeson, head of Cinven’s business services sector team, noted, “Cinven has extensive experience of successfully investing in people-based professional service providers such as Alter Domus, Miller and CPA Global, and we see significant opportunity to support the business in meeting the growing needs of clients, including through investing in technology-enablement, attracting and developing top industry talent and supporting the development of the Grant Thornton International Network. We’re excited to be working with Grant Thornton’s industry-leading CEO, Malcolm [Gomersall], and the Partnership as we support Grant Thornton through its next phase of growth.”

Grant Thornton received M&A advice from Rothschild, legal support from DLA Piper, commercial insight from L.E.K. Consulting, and financial and tax services from EY. Meanwhile, Cinven was advised for M&A by Goldman Sachs International, legal by Freshfields, commercial by Oliver Wyman, financial and operations by EY, and tax by and Deloitte.

Commenting on the road ahead, Samy Jazaerli, principal in Cinven’s financial services sector team added, “Accounting services has been a priority sector for Cinven’s financial services team, and Grant Thornton’s strong brand, broad product offering, blue-chip customer base, and successful track record set it apart in the UK market. Drawing on our significant experience of partnering with management teams to accelerate the growth of high-quality companies and our strong presence in the UK and internationally, Cinven is well placed to support the acceleration of the Company’s strategy and maintain its growth momentum.”

Grant Thornton UK first announced it was looking for private equity backing in early 2024, after the network’s US wing became the largest professional services firm to sell a piece of itself in such a deal. The firm’s Chicago-based US unit closed the sale of a stake to a group led by New Mountain Capital, which allowed the audit business to remain a partnership, while US advisory, tax and other non-audit services became part of Grant Thornton Advisors; a newly created limited liability company.

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