Interpath and beyond: The surge of private equity investment in professional services January 5, 2026 It was revealed this morning that Big Four giant KPMG’s former restructuring division, Interpath Advisory, was in exclusive negotiations with Bridgepoint to acquire a majority stake in its business, the latest in a string of private equity deals in the professional services sector. KPMG sold the arm to private equity group HIG Capital in 2021 for £400m. [...]
Trump’s push for ‘crypto capital’ sparks PwC shift towards digital assets January 5, 2026 The US arm of the Big Four giant PwC has changed its stance on cryptocurrency work following President Donald Trump’s fondness for digital assets. Trump has pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the world” after passing the ‘Genius Act’, which governs digital assets such as stablecoins, into law last year. As a [...]
KPMG spin-out Interpath Advisory makes third loss in four years as sale revealed January 5, 2026 KPMG’s former UK restructuring division, Interpath Advisory, has fallen to its third loss since breaking away from the Big Four firm in 2021, it has been revealed. The business has reported a pre-tax loss of £11m for the 12 months to 28 March, 2025, new accounts filed with Companies House show. That comes after Interpath [...]
The six-figure club: Associates at elite US legal firms set for bonus boom December 30, 2025 More than 60 per cent of UK workers aren’t expecting a Christmas bonus this year, but that’s not the case for City lawyers, some of who will receive generous six-figure payouts. Many US law firms operate under the Cravath Scale, named after the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a transparent lockstep system of associate [...]
Accountancy body warns Finance Bill could criminalise honest mistakes December 19, 2025 A body has expressed serious concerns that measures in the upcoming Finance Bill could pose an “existential threat” to professional firms and cause significant harm to compliant taxpayers. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) pointed out several effects the Bill has on tax advisers, including introducing a criminal offence for promoting [...]
UK profit dips at BDO as partner numbers hit record December 2, 2025 Mid-market accountancy giant BDO has seen its profit slip, with the firm blaming challenging market conditions and a significant increase in partner headcount for the decline. BDO UK delivered stable revenues of just £1bn over 2025, a slight dip after becoming a £1bn-turnover firm last year. Profit per equity partner (PEP) fell over 13 per [...]
Autumn Budget: Professional services sector dodged ‘damaging’ tax hikes November 26, 2025 The professional services sector breathed a sigh of relief after dodging tax hikes on LLPs in Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget. It was rumoured that Reeves was looking to add a layer of tax on limited liability partnerships (LLPs), a move that sparked a flurry of anger from the broader professional services industry, including the legal [...]
Reeves vows to halve consultancy bill, but government can’t track its spending November 21, 2025 Despite the government setting an ambitious target to halve overall spending on consultants, a new report suggests, the lack of consistent data hinders efforts to track progress toward spending targets. Rachel Reeves has set targets to halve the UK government’s overall spending on consultants in 2025-26 and to save £550m in 2024-25, aiming for £700m [...]
PE-backed Grant Thornton defies market trends with recruitment drive November 18, 2025 Private equity-backed accountancy giant Grant Thornton is bucking the trend in the professional service market with its plans to recruit 160 new partners over the next two years. Back in December, the firm’s partners unanimously voted in favour of an investment from private equity firm Cinven in a deal expected to value the firm at up to [...]
PE, mergers, and AI: Professional services faces its most pivotal moment for 20 years November 18, 2025 The professional services industry is arguably going through its most critical time in the last 20 years. As it sits on its train to the future, where it jumps off will seal its fate, as each move firms take will be critical to what the industry may look like in the next 10 years. While [...]