Trio make shortlist to buy Grant Thornton stake

Three buy-out firms have been shortlisted to take a stake in the UK business of accountancy giant Grant Thornton.

Cinven, EQT and New Mountain Capital (which backs Grant Thornton’s US operation) are the frontrunners, according to reports from Sky News.

The deal, which would value the firm at £1.5bn, could see the end to a turbulent few years at Grant Thornton, which has offices across the Midlands in Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham.

In 2022, the firm was fined £1.3m for “serious failings” in its audit of Sports Direct. Before that it was fined £3.5m for its audit work on Patisseries Holdings and outsourcing firm Interserve.

A spokesperson for Grant Thornton said: “”As all businesses do, we continually evaluate the external business and economic landscape and explore various avenues that will drive growth for our firm.

“This enables us to make informed decisions about what’s best for our people, our clients, and our firm.

“No decisions have been made and, whilst we are considering our options, we will not be commenting further.”