As consolidators sweep through the accountancy profession, snapping up firms at an unprecedented rate, Simpson Wreford LLP stands apart — and we believe our clients are better for it.
Something significant is happening across the accountancy profession. Mainly backed by private equity money and driven by the economics of scale, a new wave of consolidators is acquiring independent practices at a pace not seen before. Firms that have served their communities for generations are being absorbed into large groups, rebranded, and reorganised. Many of the partners who built them collect their cheque and move on. The clients may be left wondering who is now looking after them.
At Simpson Wreford LLP, we have been watching this trend with a clear conscience. We have been approached. We have listened politely. And we have said no — because we believe, without hesitation, that remaining independent is the right thing for our clients, our team, and our profession.
We have been doing this since 1886. We intend to continue.
What consolidation may mean for clients
The pitch from consolidators is usually compelling on paper. Larger resources, deeper specialisms, more technology, greater reach. But the lived experience of clients who find their firm has been acquired can sometimes tell a rather different story.
What can follow a sale is a period of upheaval. The partner who knew your business inside out may be subject to an earn-out agreement and could possibly be gone within two years. Your files may be migrated to a new system. Your billing structure may change. The local office that was five minutes away may be consolidated into a regional hub. The relationship you valued — built on trust, familiarity, and genuine understanding of your circumstances — may evolve as systems and structures change.
This is not speculation. It is the pattern that plays out, repeatedly, wherever consolidation takes hold in professional services.
The advantages of staying independent
Independence is not simply the absence of a buyer. It is an active choice, with real and tangible benefits for everyone we work with.
What independence means in practice
- You deal with the same people, year after year. Your relationship is with our partners and senior staff — not a rotating cast of client managers assigned by a regional hub.
- Decisions are made locally, by people who know our clients and our firm best. We are independent, and that allows us to focus on our clients' needs and our own professional standards.
- We recommend services only where we believe they are genuinely appropriate for the client. Our advice is guided by client needs, not by pressure to meet sales targets.
- Our culture belongs to us. The values that have defined this firm for more than 135 years — honesty, diligence, and a genuine interest in clients' success — are not the property of a parent company. They are ours to protect.
- Agility, not bureaucracy. When you need a fast answer or a flexible approach, there is no multi-layer approval structure in the way. We can simply get on with it.
Part of a network, not a conglomerate
Independence does not mean isolation. We are proud members of the UK200Group, the UK's leading quality-assured membership association of independent chartered accountancy and law firms. This gives our clients access to specialist expertise and international reach — the benefits of a large network, without any of the drawbacks of being swallowed by one.
It is, we think, the best of both worlds: the personal relationship and local knowledge of a dedicated independent firm, combined with the connections and resources of a trusted national and international community of professionals.
A long view, not a quick return
These consolidators usually have a time frame. Typically, it is three to seven years — the window in which an investment must be realised and returned to investors. That horizon shapes every decision a consolidated firm makes, whether those running it acknowledge it or not.
We do not have a time horizon. We have a history stretching back to the Victorian era and, we trust, a future that extends well beyond any of us currently working here. Our incentive is not to extract maximum value before an exit. It is to build and sustain relationships that last decades — like the ones we have with clients who have been with us for thirty, forty, or fifty years.
We have always put our clients first, and that will remain unchanged. Our focus is on building long-term relationships and maintaining the standards our clients expect.
Our commitment to you
If you are a client of Simpson Wreford LLP, you have our word: we are not for sale. The firm you chose — with its particular character, its continuity of personnel, and its straightforward way of doing business — will remain the firm you deal with. There will be no unexpected letters informing you that your account has been transferred to a new entity, no change of branding, no unfamiliar voice on the other end of the telephone.
If you are considering whether Simpson Wreford might be the right firm for you, we hope this gives you a sense of what we stand for. In a profession undergoing rapid consolidation, the question of who owns your accountant — and whose interests they are ultimately serving — is worth asking.
We are owned by the partners who work here, and we serve the clients who trust us. It really is that simple.
To find out more about working with Simpson Wreford LLP, please get in touch or call us on 020 8317 6460. We would be delighted to talk.