Three new corporate finance firms are setting up in the region.
Ernst & Young partner Steve Stuart is quitting as a partner in the firm to set up his own practice. His departure follows E&Y’s decision to concentrate its North West corporate finance activities in Manchester.
At the same time former KPMG corporate finance partner James Dow is due to open a new practice at offices in Warrington later this month. Mr Dow had a strong reputation in the Merseyside area when he headed the accountancy group’s Liverpool office. He has been on garden leave since the start of the year.
Mr Dow will be joined by former Cammell Laird finance director Jon Schofield. Mr Schofield has been carrying out private consultancy work since the collapse of the Birkenhead shipyard group 18 months ago. The pair will be joined by another KPMG partner Mark Watts. The firm will trade under the name Dow Schofield Watts.
Prior to joining Laird’s, Mr Schofield was at KPMG for 11 years. He said: “We worked together in the early ’90s and we kept a good working relationship since I left the firm and I am very much looking forward to working with them now.
We are totally independent and investing our own money in the venture.”
The third practice to open locally will be run by John Lyon, who used to be a partner in E&Y in Manchester. Mr Lyon says he has been attracted to Liverpool by the availability of investment cash from Merseyside Special Investment Fund. At the start of this year, MSIF launched £80m of funding for small and medium sized enterprises in Merseyside. Mr Lyon recently helped raise £1m for Glomoco, a Manchester firm that moved to St Helens to take advantage of the MSIF funding. Glomoco makes remote tracking devices that links plant hire firms to their equipment.
Mr Stuart also has strong links with MSIF. He said: “I hope to create what will be the largest independent firm doing Merger and acquisition work on Merseyside.
“MSIF has a big pot of money for investment on Merseyside, but the big four accountancy firms do not have corporate finance teams here.” He said E&Y had pulled out of corporate finance in Liverpool as part of a national strategy to concentrate resources on large multinational clients. “The Merseyside market is predominantly small and medium sized owner managed businesses.
“I am hoping that where E&Y can’t go I will be able to. I hope to have five or six staff by next year.”
Mr Lyon, based in Martin’s Building on Water Street, also hopes to win international assignments. He is currently working on a deal in the United States.
Mr Dow also has an international reputation in the football industry. In the past he has advised Barcelona, Ajax as well as Everton when the club was owned by Birkenhead entrepreneur Peter Johnson.
The moves come at a time of rapid change in the local corporate finance market. KPMG recently scaled back the size of its advisory team in Manchester with seven fee earners departing.
David Houghton joined Brabner Chaffe Street as a corporate finance director from TMG Corporate Finance in Manchester in early summer.
billgleeson@dailypost.co.uk
Source: www.icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk
