International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that it has reached an agreement to make a majority investment in Grant Thornton UK (‘Grant Thornton’ or ‘the Company’), one of the leading diversified professional services firms offering audit, tax and advisory services in the UK. Grant Thornton’s UK Partner base will remain invested in the business as a significant shareholder alongside the Cinven funds.
Grant Thornton is one of the oldest professional services firms in the UK, dating back to 1904, and today is one of the UK’s largest accounting and advisory services firms. Led by over 240 partners and with more than 5,500 employees across over 20 offices in the UK, the firm serves a wide and diverse client base focused on medium and large corporates, government organisations and individuals.
The investment by the Cinven funds draws on the firm’s deep expertise in Financial and Business Services and reflects its strong conviction about Grant Thornton’s leading platform and prospects for sustained growth. The professional services and advisory market is an attractive and resilient sector, supported by increasing client demand. Grant Thornton has delivered consistent, through-cycle performance and has a significant opportunity to drive further growth in response to evolving client needs.
Cinven’s Financial Services and Business Services Sector teams have collaborated closely on the investment in Grant Thornton, identifying it as a compelling primary opportunity underpinned by a number of attractive characteristics, including:
- Leading provider of professional services to the mid-market and beyond: Grant Thornton is a key player among the UK “Big 6”, boasting a high-quality platform serving a diverse blue-chip client base and a significant public sector practice. With an impressive product mix spanning audit, tax, and a broad array of advisory services, the Company is well positioned to deliver robust growth and capture further market share.
- Highly diversified offering with significant opportunities to drive sustained growth: Grant Thornton benefits from strong competitive differentiation, with a strong brand and diverse business lines. The Company is well positioned for sustained future growth as its clients require more advice on the ever-evolving regulatory, tax and policy landscape, and corporate focus on areas including risk management, cyber and ESG continue to grow, where Grant Thornton can provide valuable support and advice to its clients.
- Leading ability to attract, develop and retain talent: Grant Thornton is led by more than 240 partners and over 5,500 talented professionals and is recognised as one of the UK’s leading employers with a strong commitment to talent development.
- Strong commitment to high-quality client service and audit standards: Grant Thornton offers a differentiated client proposition, built around quality of service, strength of relationships and focus on maintaining the highest industry standards.
- Leading role in the global Grant Thornton International Network: Through its commitment to the Grant Thornton International Network,Grant Thornton combines global scale with local insight and an understanding of 150 markets.
Maxim Crewe, Partner and Head of Cinven’s Financial Services Sector team, and Rory Neeson, Partner and Head of Cinven’s Business Services Sector team commented:
“Cinven is delighted to be making this investment in Grant Thornton, one of the UK’s leading accounting and advisory services firms. Through this process we have been hugely impressed by the strength of the business, calibre of its Partner group and its unwavering commitment to delivering client excellence with high audit standards. 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, and the Partnership as we support Grant Thornton through its next phase of growth.”
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.”
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.”
The transaction is subject to Partner ratification, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Grant Thornton was advised by Rothschild (M&A), DLA Piper (Legal), LEK (Commercial) and EY (Financial & Tax).
Cinven was advised by Goldman Sachs International (M&A), Freshfields (Legal), Oliver Wyman (Commercial), EY (Financial & Operations) and Deloitte (Tax).
