OC&C advises Shaw Gibbs on its sale to ECI Partners

We are delighted to congratulate Shaw Gibbs and its shareholders on the sale of the business to ECI Partners. OC&C provided vendor due diligence to support the transaction.

Shaw Gibbs is a leading accountancy and business advisory group, providing a broad range of accounting, tax, payroll and specialist advisory services to SMEs, corporates and private clients.

Since receiving investment from Apiary Capital in 2022, Shaw Gibbs has pursued an ambitious growth strategy, expanding its geographic footprint and broadening its capabilities through a series of acquisitions. Today, the group includes 20 offices – servicing c25,000 clients across its SME, corporate and private client base.

ECI Partners is a leading UK growth-focused private equity investor with a long track record of partnering with ambitious management teams. ECI’s investment marks the next phase of Shaw Gibbs’ development, supporting the business as it continues to build its regional presence, broaden its service offering and pursue further growth.

The transaction reflects continued investor interest in the accountancy and professional services sector, where fragmented markets and opportunities for organic and acquisitive growth are supporting the development of scaled, differentiated platforms.

OC&C and Private Equity

We’re a leading global strategy consultancy, with deep expertise across Business Services and Professional Services. We work with both major global corporations and local champions, bringing deep sector knowledge and strategic clarity to our clients’ most important decisions.

In private equity, we have commercially advised on more than 500 successful transactions over the last five years, encompassing both sell-side and buy-side roles.

How we can help:

• We provide commercial due diligence and vendor due diligence for transactions.
• We assist investors with accelerating or improving their portfolio companies’ performance.
• We help investors identify potential investment themes or assets to target.
• We translate investment theses into actionable 3–5 year value creation plans.

For more details on our experience in this space, get in touch with our experts, or email [email protected].