Shaw Gibbs closes private equity deal with ECI Partners and Apiary Capital
This article covers Shaw Gibbs, an accountancy, tax and advisory firm that has closed a private equity-backed growth funding round to fund further acquisitions, investment in technology and expansion across the UK and Ireland. The deal aims to bolster the firm's capacity to serve around 25,000 clients and to strengthen services for small and medium-sized businesses, charities and public-sector organisations while enabling further investment in staff and systems.
Shaw Gibbs, the UK accountancy, tax and advisory firm ranked among the country’s top 35 practices, has closed a growth funding round backed by a private equity transaction that will fund further acquisitions, investment in technology and wider UK and Ireland expansion. The deal comes after a period of rapid hiring and consolidation and matters because it underlines continued investor appetite for relationship-led professional services businesses serving mid-market clients.
Why it matters
The transaction reinforces a broader trend: private capital continuing to flow into professional services firms that combine local client relationships with national scale and tech-enabled delivery. Shaw Gibbs now supports around 25,000 clients and has materially increased capacity and specialist capability in recent years, making the outcome relevant for small and medium-sized businesses, charities and public-sector organisations that rely on outsourced accounting and advisory services.
For staff and clients, the deal signals further investment in training, career pathways and technology platforms at a time when firms are competing for talent and seeking to standardise complex compliance work.
Inside the product
Shaw Gibbs offers accounting, tax, audit and advisory services to private individuals, entrepreneurial businesses, public sector and non-profit organisations and international groups. The firm emphasises local client relationships delivered alongside centralised technical expertise and increasingly uses modern accounting and workflow technology to streamline compliance and advisory work.
Since 2022 the group has completed 14 acquisitions, extending its UK footprint and entering Ireland through a partnership with Crowleys DFK. Other recent add-ons include Alliotts and Martin and Company, each brought in to strengthen regional coverage and preserve local client relationships while providing access to a broader set of national resources.
Who are the investors?
Who are the investors?
The deal is a private equity-backed transaction that sees the incoming investor take the company forward and provides a full realisation for the existing financial backer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
ECI Partners is the incoming investor. ECI is a mid-market private equity firm that manages funds of approximately £3bn and typically invests in businesses valued up to about £350m, taking majority or minority positions. Its portfolio includes businesses such as KB Associates and IGG, signalling ECI’s interest in service businesses with repeatable revenue and client relationships.
Apiary Capital is the selling investor and is being fully realised. Apiary is a UK private equity firm focused on education, healthcare, financial, business and technology services; it closed its second fund at £240m in April 2024.
Advisors on the transaction included Continuum Advisory Partners (M&A) and Squire Patton Boggs (legal) for the incoming investor, and Investec (M&A), Osborne Clarke (legal) and Jamieson (management advisory) for the seller and the business.
In the announcement, Michael Butler, Partner at ECI, said:
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.
In the announcement, Chris Heawood, Partner at Apiary Capital, said:
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.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of fintech venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of fintech angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
In the announcement, Peter O’Connell, CEO of Shaw Gibbs, said:
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.
O’Connell’s comments underline the board’s intent to prioritise people and systems as the firm integrates new offices and teams, and to use external capital to scale capability rather than change the client-facing model.
The bigger picture
The transaction is another example of private equity interest in the UK professional services market, where firms with recurring revenue and strong client retention are increasingly attractive targets. Cross-border moves into Ireland mirror wider post-Brexit trading patterns and reflect demand from clients that operate across the UK and Ireland.
For the UK and European ecosystem, the deal highlights that investors remain willing to back consolidation and technology investment in service-led sectors. For clients, it could mean more standardised service levels and broader specialist access; for competitors, continued consolidation will put pressure on medium-sized practices to strengthen their propositions.
Overall, the deal points to steady deal activity in the mid-market and continued strategic focus on combining local relationships with centralised technical and technology resources across the UK and Ireland.
They've invested in Shaw Gibbs
Get to know these fintech investors
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ECI Partners( ) ECI Partners is a mid-market private equity firm focused on management buyouts, ... London  | ||||
 Apiary Capital( ) | ||||
| All investors | All investor sectors | All funded startups | All funding rounds |
Click here for a full list of 7,589+ startup investors in the UK