A year after our London listing, CEO, Rakesh Shaunak says more accountancy firms could turn to public markets for an exit.
Rakesh Shaunak said accountancy firms backed by private equity should explore the public markets, as a wave of them gear up for sale this year.
Private equity-owned UK accountants Sumer, TC Group and Shaw Gibbs are all looking for new buyers, which will test buoyant valuation targets set by the buyout shops that have piled into the sector in recent years.
But Shaunak warned that not all will achieve the “crazy” price tags they are hoping for, adding that more businesses should consider alternatives to private equity such as an IPO.
We are, the UK and Ireland arm of the Baker Tilly network, and are marking one year since our listing on London’s Aim market on 15 April 2025. Our shares are currently trading at 129p, up from the IPO price of 100p, giving us a market cap of £370m.
Other top 20 UK accountancy firms could also be candidates for a London listing, according to Shaunak.
“Firms like Xeinadin, once integrated, and Azets, which is now an integrated business, would be very good propositions [on the public market],” he said.
Azets, owned by PAI Partners and Hg, and Exponent-backed Xeinadin, are among a raft of accountancy firms pursuing a buy-and-build strategy under their private equity investors.
In February, Xeinadin paused a proposed sale after bids fell short of its £1bn asking price, the Financial Times reported.
Shaunak said we had received “a lot of interest” from buyout shops but decided against the private equity route in order to maintain control of the business.
“We wanted to retain control and define our own strategy,” he said. “With PE we were picking up the sense that you don’t do that. You roll out the strategy of the PE fund and they have a very active role in the business.”
As he weighed up other funding options for the firm, in the summer of 2023 an email from the London Stock Exchange Group landed in his inbox.
Tim Davis, LSEG’s regional head of primary markets, had been tracking our firm’s growth and invited Shaunak to discuss a potential listing.
Shaunak and the rest of the management team soon set to work, presenting the IPO plan to the wider partnership in June 2024 before pressing ahead with the float 10 months later, despite market turbulence unleashed by Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs.
Since the IPO, which raised £98m, we have acquired Baker Tilly’s south east Europe unit for €24m and Dubai-based Moore Stephens for £7.4m.
In addition, we launched a consulting division in November and considering expanding into other service lines.
"Shaunak said the public listing has also helped raise the firm’s profile in the talent market, allowing it to offer shares to staff as part of their pay packages.
It enabled us to create a structure whereby we can attract and retain talent,” he said. “Rather than buying into the goodwill, people are now able to participate in the equity of the firm and get dividends from that."
