Waterland invests in tax and audit advisor Cooper Parry

Rachel Lewis
04 July 2022

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Private equity firm Waterland has invested in Cooper Parry in a deal that will transform the UK tax and audit advisor from an LLP to a limited company.

The sponsor is deploying capital from its EUR 2bn Waterland Private Equity Fund VII, rather than its most recent vehicle, Fund VIII, Investment Director Dominic Graham told Unquote.

Fund VII is where a handful of Waterland's other business support services assets sit, said Graham, adding that they will remain standalone platform investments.

The deal is not being structured as either a majority buyout nor a significant minority, and is instead being positioned as a partnership, said Graham.

It will see Cooper Parry's shareholder structure change from being an LLP to a limited company with all 42 partners to remain in place.

The change will hopefully cause other advisory LLPs to sit up and acknowledge that it is possible, thus kickstarting more consolidation in the industry, said Graham.

Growth plans

Cooper Parry had revenue of GBP 34m in the year to April 30 2021, according to its latest available accounts. Waterland said that the business had grown 33% in the most recent financial year.

The GP is targeting five-fold revenue growth over the next five years through a mix of M&A and organic growth.

The company will benefit from more mid-market clients moving away from the Big Four and standard compliance services, towards more localised and advisory offerings, said Graham.

Waterland's plans include growing Cooper Parry's offering in more specialised tax services like R&D, VAT, capital allowances and international tax.

It will also use M&A to build a hub model around the UK, targeting new significant cities. International expansion will come at a later stage, said Graham.

People

Waterland - Oliver Bevan, Dominic Graham, Robin Elley, Matt Boyers.

Cooper Parry - Ade Cheatham (CEO).

Advisors

Waterland - Alantra (M&A); Addleshaw Goddard (legal); Deloitte (tax); 8Advisory (FDD) and Clearwater (debt advisory).

Cooper Parry - Clearwater (M&A); BrowneJacobson (legal).