Accountancy merger completes to create UK’s largest firm outside of Big Four

BDO has completed its merger with Moore Stephens, which BDO says will create the largest UK accountancy and business advisory firm focused on medium-sized businesses.

From today, the merged firm will operate under the BDO brand and as part of BDO’s international network, which has 80,000 people and revenues of $9bn across 162 countries.

In the UK, BDO now has a workforce of 5,000 people across 17 locations, tunrning over £590m.

The merger includes the London, Birmingham, Reading, Bristol and Watford offices of Moore Stephens.

Paul Eagland, managing partner of BDO, said: “The audit market is going through a significant period of reform and our clients are facing unprecedented uncertainty as Brexit looms and global trade undergoes fundamental changes.

“Notwithstanding these uncertainties, I’m confident that a combination of our 5,000 people and our reputation for trust and quality puts us in a fantastic position to help our clients and our people capitalise on the opportunities that always accompany such change.

“Our clear sense of purpose and growth strategy will help our entire team make this merger a huge success.”

Simon Gallagher, former managing partner at Moore Stephens, joins BDO’s Leadership Team as head of advisory. Formerly Moore Stephens chief operating officer, Jon Randall, also joins the Leadership Team as head of integration and transformation.

Gallagher said: “From the moment we started our conversations, our shared ambition was to create a fully-integrated firm that our people are proud of and one which leads in serving what we call the UK’s ‘economic engine’ – the entrepreneurially-spirited, mid-sized businesses that are driving UK growth.

“This merger is one of growth and creates a new force in the market, enabling us to challenge our existing competition and deliver an increasingly impressive range of services to help our people and clients succeed.”