Andrew Howson named national head of private equity for BDO

BDO has appointed Andrew Howson as its new UK head of private equity. He takes on the role having joined the firm eight years previously.

Jamie Austin said, “This is a great progression for BDO and for Andrew as we continue to drive towards our vision of having the best private equity practice on the planet.”

Howson joined BDO as a transaction services partner in 2017, prior to which he held senior roles at EY and Deloitte. He has been a member of BDO’s private equity leadership team for many years and has established relationships with many private equity investors and portfolio companies.

In his new role, Howson will be responsible for expanding BDO’s suite of services and further developing the firm’s relationships across the PE community. This will include cross-border opportunities, working closely with Jamie Austin in his role leading the global private equity initiative.

Commenting on his appointment, Howson added, “My ambition is to strengthen and deepen our existing relationships within the private equity community and establish new connections by bringing the very best of BDO to the market. We see huge potential to support our PE clients across the whole spectrum of a transaction life cycle.”

BDO’s global network provides business advisory services in 166 countries and territories, with more than 119,000 people working out of 1,800 offices worldwide, and revenues of $15 billion. In the UK, this includes a member firm spread across 18 offices, employing 8,000 people, and with revenues of £1 billion. 

Earlier in the autumn, BDO’s UK wing announced the promotion of almost 2,000 of its people. Among the promotions were 24 newly appointed partners across BDO’s audit, tax, consulting, risk and outsourcing, deals, and central operations business areas.