Growth plan as Grant Thornton picks new regional head

ACCOUNTANTS and business advisory firm Grant Thornton has appointed Carl Williams as managing partner for its North West offices in Liverpool and Manchester.

Mr Williams  43, who succeeds Les Ross, who is retiring in the summer after more than 35 years’ with the firm, plans to boost the firm’s capabilities in transaction services, corporate finance and debt advisory, with senior-level hires.

He takes up the post July 1 and will lead a team of 400 people across offices in Manchester’s Spinningfields and the Royal Liver Building, Liverpool.

Grant Thornton UK, the fifth largest firm in the country, posted a 13% increase in turnover to £471m for the last financial year and expects to reach its target of £500m revenue in 2014..

Its North West operation is the UK firm’s largest business unit outside of London and has turnover of around £35m.
 
Mr Williams, who was born in Warrington and now lives in nearby Lymm, said: “The North West is a powerhouse in the UK economy and our team here makes a significant contribution to the firm’s growth.

“We are able to do that because we thrive working alongside the entrepreneurs, funders and decision-makers who are creating wealth and opportunity in our region.”

He has been a partner for eight years, having joined Grant Thornton in 1995.

He added: “My absolute focus is on extending our reach into the North West market place. We have a strong position but we are investing in our team to go even further. That means bringing in new senior people and also developing our existing staff.

“I want us to be ambitious and a bit more ballsy – we do great work for fantastic  and have great people working for us.”

Robert Hannah, who leads Grant Thornton’s network of 25 regional offices said: “Carl is a highly effective client service partner and a natural leader.  He has built an exceptional reputation in the market for providing high quality advice to assist dynamic businesses in realising their potential for growth and is a role model within the firm for living the values and behaviours we expect.”

“He will bring those leadership and commercial skills to bear in his new role while continuing to support his clients. We are delighted to have someone of his quality to build on Les’s excellent contribution and to ensure the ongoing success of our growing North West practice.”