ECI Partners, the growth-focused mid-market private equity firm, announces its investment in Shaw Gibbs, a top 35 practice which supports private individuals, entrepreneurial businesses, public sector/non‑profit organisations and international groups with tailored accounting, tax and advisory services.

The investment marks the next chapter in Shaw Gibbs’ growth journey and provides a full realisation for Apiary Capital, which has supported the business since 2022.

Founded on a commitment to building strong, long-term client relationships, Shaw Gibbs has established itself as one of the UK’s leading accountancy, tax and business advisory firms servicing c.25,000 clients. Combining local service, deep technical expertise and innovative solutions, the business helps clients navigate increasingly complex financial and regulatory environments through a comprehensive suite of advisory, accounting, tax and audit services.

Since Apiary’s investment in 2022 the business has completed 14 acquisitions, expanding its reach across the UK and Ireland. Recent additions, including Alliotts, Martin and Company, and Crowleys DFK in Ireland, strengthened the group’s regional footprint to support clients through local relationships backed by national scale.

Shaw Gibbs’ focus on its employee value proposition has supported its growth, creating an entrepreneurial and collaborative culture, strong training and development programmes, and long-term progression pathways. This has helped support leading employee retention rates and longevity of customer relationships.

Shaw Gibbs selected ECI as its partner for the next phase of growth, recognising ECI’s experience supporting relationship-led businesses and its track record in financial services with investments including KB Associates and IGG.

Peter O’Connell, CEO of Shaw Gibbs: “This investment reflects the strength of our business, the success of our strategy, and our continued position as a firm of choice for talented people, clients and high-quality firms looking to join us. With Apiary Capital’s support, we have built a market leading accountancy firm, and I am excited to partner with ECI for this next stage of our growth. They understand our focus on culture and clients and offer hands on support for continuing to invest in in the team and innovation through technology, which will support further sustainable growth. This is an important milestone for Shaw Gibbs, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the whole team.”

Michael Butler, Partner at ECI: “Shaw Gibbs stood out to us as one of the most client-centric businesses in the accountancy space, with the platform to scale their consistently high-quality service. Their breadth of service offering, culture and employee proposition, on top of a track record of integrating high-quality businesses, gives them an excellent platform for further growth. We’re excited to work with the management team to deliver on that opportunity together.”

Chris Heawood, Partner at Apiary Capital: “We are incredibly proud to have been a part of Shaw Gibbs’ journey following our initial investment almost four years ago. Since then, Peter and the wider leadership team have transformed the business, growing the team from 100 to over 800 people, while retaining a dynamic and collaborative culture, and continuing to deliver exceptional client service. We look forward to following Shaw Gibbs’ continuing growth story under ECI ownership.”

Advisors:

• ECI was advised by Continuum Advisory Partners (M&A) and Squire Patton Boggs (Legal).
• Shaw Gibbs and Apiary Capital were advised by Investec (M&A) and Osborne Clarke (Legal), and Jamieson (Management Advisory).

Financial terms were not disclosed.

For further information, please contact:

• ECI Partners: Fiona Moore at moore@ecipartners.com or on +44 (0) 20 7606 1000
• Shaw Gibbs: Fran Kidd, fran.kidd@shawgibbs.com or on +44(0)1865 292297
• Apiary Capital: Nikola Sutherland at nsutherland@apiarycapital.com or on +44 (0) 203 034 7600

About Shaw Gibbs

Shaw Gibbs is a top 35 accountancy practice who provide expert solutions for private individuals, entrepreneurial businesses, public sector/non‑profit organisations and international groups. Investing in teams of high-quality specialists, they work with the best-in-breed technology to create value for clients which exceeds expectation.

www.shawgibbs.com

About ECI Partners

ECI Partners is a mid-market private equity firm that provides collaborative support to growth-focused management teams. For 50 years and in over 250 deals, ECI has built a reputation for being straightforward to work with and fully aligned with the leadership teams it backs, helping to deliver exceptional results.

Managing funds of approximately £3bn, ECI invests in businesses valued up to £350m, taking either majority or minority positions. Its growth-focused approach is supported by deep in-house capability, helping management teams with areas such as market entry strategies organically or through M&A, employee engagement, and scaling technology platforms.

Find out more at www.ecipartners.com

About Apiary Capital 

Apiary Capital is a UK private equity firm investing in the education, healthcare, financial, business and technology services sectors. The firm seeks to acquire platform companies in attractive markets and supports management teams to accelerate growth. Apiary Capital closed its second fund at £240m in April 2024.

Find out more at www.apiarycapital.com