Business and financial advisor Grant Thornton UK LLP’s partnership has unanimously voted in favour of a strategic investment from international private equity firm Cinven, which will accelerate Grant Thornton’s growth through additional capital and other resources. The firm will retain its partnership structure and ethos, but with external investment.
Having grown significantly over recent years, the firm, which has offices in Leicester and Nottingham, has been exploring external capital to accelerate the next phase of its growth, allowing it to substantially invest in its talent and technologies.
Having reached record revenue in 2023 (£654m), the firm is expected to surpass this in 2024 and, with the support of external investment, aims to reach £1bn over the coming years.
Following a review of its strategic options over recent months, the firm’s partners have unanimously voted in favour of a strategic partnership with Cinven, owing to the two firms’ shared vision for Grant Thornton’s future success and complementary cultures.
Cinven is one of Europe’s largest private equity firms and has been investing for more than 40 years. It has raised circa €50 billion funds.
Malcolm Gomersall, CEO of Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “The story of our growth journey over recent years has been remarkable. We’ve weathered some of the most significant macroeconomic events in history and we’ve come out of them even stronger, both financially and culturally.
“The dynamics of our sector, both here in the UK and internationally, have also changed dramatically over recent years. We’re incredibly proud of the firm we are today, and we’re ready to write the next chapter in our story.
“We recognise the opportunity that external investment can offer to help us further accelerate our growth, whilst retaining our partnership structure and ethos, and provide an outstanding experience for our people and clients. We’re therefore looking forward to partnering with Cinven.
“We were attracted to their admiration of our commitment to high-quality service (particularly in our audit practice), our breadth of services, our client centric offering, the culture we foster at our firm and our growth plans.”
Maxim Crewe, Partner and Head of Cinven’s Financial Services Sector team, added: “Grant Thornton’s reputation for quality, its stand-out culture and considerable financial performance in recent years provide a very attractive partnership proposition.
“Through this investment we see considerable opportunity to further enhance the quality of the firm’s service to clients and build and nurture high-performance teams. We’re excited to work with the team as we support Grant Thornton to accelerate the next phase of its growth.”
The firm has also announced plans to introduce an Employee Benefit Trust arrangement for many of its people below Partner grade to benefit from Grant Thornton’s long-term growth, comprising both cash and equity rewards.
Also as part of the transaction, the firm’s partners have agreed to hold back a material amount of equity for future partners during the investment period – thus protecting the future generation of partners over the next few years.
The terms of the proposed transaction between Grant Thornton and Cinven remain confidential. The transaction is expected to complete towards the end of Q1 2025, subject to regulatory approval, and other standard conditions.
