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Pay for Grant Thornton’s UK partners rose to an average of almost £700,000 last year as the accounting firm struck a deal to be bought out by private equity group Cinven.
Grant Thornton said on Tuesday that it had completed its transaction with Cinven, the most significant investment to date by a buyout group in the UK accounting sector.
Staff were handed an “exceptional” bonus of £39mn on top of performance bonuses for the first time, while employees below partner grade will be allocated shares in the company in the coming weeks, Grant Thornton said.
The Cinven buyout was reviewed by the UK accounting regulator, the Financial Reporting Council, to ensure Grant Thornton’s auditors’ independence would still meet its requirements. The deal was expected to value the UK business at up to £1.5bn, but the size of Cinven’s stake and the amount paid have not been disclosed.
Payouts for Grant Thornton’s 250 partners averaged £682,000 in 2024, a 6 per cent increase on 2023. Operating profit grew by less than half a per cent, a slowdown from the 18 per cent increase reported in 2023, which Grant Thornton blamed largely on transaction costs from the Cinven deal. Net revenue increased by 11 per cent to £724mn.
UK accounting firms are following their US counterparts by seeking alternative ownership structures that allow partners to cash out on their stakes or attract external capital to fuel growth.
Mid-tier firm MHA, the UK arm of Baker Tilly, floated on London’s Aim on Tuesday, in a rare example of an accountancy firm choosing to list publicly.
MHA originally targeted a £350mn valuation, but eventually listed with a market capitalisation of £271mn, a drop that chief executive Rakesh Shaunak attributed to “turmoil in the market”, including the “changing picture” around US President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy.
Shares were trading 2.5 per cent higher on Tuesday afternoon.
Shaunak said MHA preferred to list publicly than to sell a stake to a private equity house in order to “retain significant control” and “work at our own pace”.
MHA ruled out private equity despite continued offers, he told the Financial Times, adding that the “frenzy” of private equity conversations had plateaued in the sector and was not as “dominant” as in previous months.
“I suspect that our IPO will pique people’s interest. And you know I can’t say for certain that this will be the way that other firms will be going as well. But it certainly gives another option,” he said.
Sarah Rapson, executive director of supervision at the FRC, said ownership structures “remain a matter for the firms themselves” but that the regulator would “actively engage directly” with firms interested in such plans.
“Any party interested in a capital restructuring must be able to continue to provide assurance that it can support the public interest, the independence dimensions of audit and all applicable regulatory expectations,” she said.
