Freeths leads on £271m accounting firm IPO

Freeths has advised mid-tier UK accounting firm MHA on its IPO on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market.

MHA - the UK arm of global accounting giant Baker Tilly - raised £98 million at a £271 million valuation, with shares admitted to trading on Tuesday (15 April).

The fresh capital will support MHA’s stated aim "to become a top 10 UK accounting and professional services business, generating in excess of £500 million annualised revenue."

MHA is currently the UK’s 13th largest accountancy firm with revenues of £180 million in the 2023/24 financial year.

Advising

Freeths advised MHA with a team led by ECM partner Jeremy Swift, supported by London corporate head Tom Rowley and a wider team spanning 13 offices and 44 lawyers.

Swift said the float marked "a significant milestone" for MHA and showed renewed investor confidence in the UK capital markets.

Rowley added the deal reflected the growth of Freeths’ corporate and ECM practice, saying the deal "is testament to the strides we have made in recent years in growing a strong corporate team with ECM specialists that can execute complex landmark projects such as this."

Stephenson Harwood advised MHA’s financial adviser Cavendish on the listing. The team was led by partner Tom Nicholls, supported by associates Tom O'Connor, Emily De Salis and Billy Gregory.

Bigger picture

The float comes amid a wider trend of external investors eyeing UK accounting firms, with the firms themselves weighing IPOs against private equity funding to fuel growth.

Also on Tuesday, Grant Thornton completed its investment deal with private equity firm Cinven (with Freshfields and DLA Piper advising), while Apax acquired Evelyn Partners’ accounting arm in December (A&O Shearman and Macfarlanes advising respectively).