RSM Tenon recruits new director from rival

BIRMINGHAM accountants RSM Tenon has recruited Steve Thornhill from city rival BDO to head up the firm’s West Midlands’ corporate finance operation.

Mr Thornhill, 45, who has become director of corporate finance, said the appointment was a great opportunity to make an impact in a recovering marketplace.

“The West Midlands is a large area but the advisory community that serves it is tight knit.  I am sure that the extension into Birmingham of a large national brand using local people will be readily accepted and welcomed.

“Being welcomed and getting deals done are two different things.  There is no doubt that we still face challenging times in the advisory marketplace.  I believe however that there are real signs that the marketplace is starting to come back.  The mega-mergers are starting to happen with increased frequency.  The confidence that follows from this does reverberate and ultimately finds its way into my target market: the SMEs who on average transact at between £5m and £50m,” he said.
 
At BDO he was involved in the multi-million pound sales of Brandon Tool Hire and Brookes Heat Merchants – each part of the Wolseley Group – both to private equity. He also completed around 20 deals in a variety of sectors and ranging in deal size from £1m to £50m.

He said 2010 was shaping up to be a good year for corporate finance. While transactions were not at the level of 2007, there was still good cause for optimism.

“This renewed optimism, coupled with a pent-up desire amongst business owners to refinance, to sell or to acquire, leads me to believe that 2011 could be an interesting and busy year for me and my team,” he added.

Mr Thornhill started his advisory career in 1988 with KPMG.  He then spent an 11-year period in industry in a number of public and private businesses in both FD and MD capacity.  He returned to practice again in 2006, joining BDO.

Paul Bevan, Midlands head of corporate finance at RSM Tenon, said: “This is just the start we have been looking to make in the West Midlands. Steve’s appointment is a real coup and we’re delighted to have him on board.  

“With Steve at the helm, and the new corporate finance team we are establishing in the West Midlands, we are looking forward to building our business and local reputation quickly. Over the next few weeks we expect to be announcing those extra appointments.”