Grant Thornton UK announced on 13 July 2026 that it had acquired Fairgrove. Its release calls this the firm’s first domestic acquisition since Cinven’s investment. Cinven announced a majority investment in the firm in November 2024, with the UK partners staying on as a significant shareholder. This file sets out what the parties’ own pages record and what they leave out.
Correct as at 15 October 2026.
Dated fact: the latest event
On 13 July 2026 Grant Thornton UK published a release headed "Grant Thornton UK acquires Fairgrove to strengthen Deals Advisory business". The page is dated 13 Jul 2026. Its summary line describes the deal as Grant Thornton UK’s first domestic acquisition since Cinven’s investment, and says it expands support for private equity clients.
The full text of the release does not state the price paid or the share of Fairgrove acquired.
This is the acquirer’s own announcement. The sources cited include no separate statement from the Fairgrove side.
| Owner/backer | Sector | Known acquisitions (dated) | Sources | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Thornton UK (operating firm) | Audit, tax and advisory | Fairgrove, announced 13 Jul 2026; price and stake not read | GT UK release | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Cinven funds | Private equity | Majority investment in Grant Thornton UK, agreement announced 21 Nov 2024. Separate Cinven partnership with Grant Thornton Germany, agreed 10 Sep 2025 (a Cinven deal, not a Grant Thornton UK acquisition) | Cinven, UK; Cinven, Germany | 15 Oct 2026 |
| UK partner base | Partners | Stated to remain a significant shareholder (Cinven, 21 Nov 2024) | Cinven, UK | 15 Oct 2026 |
Ownership structure
On 21 November 2024 Cinven announced an agreement to make a majority investment in Grant Thornton UK. It said the UK partner base would remain invested as a significant shareholder alongside the Cinven funds. The same page describes a firm led by over 240 partners, with more than 5,500 employees across over 20 offices. It says the transaction was subject to partner ratification, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Cinven also appears in our Tally note Kingsley Napley: 27% of 22 top-60 firms took PE.
Grant Thornton UK’s own release says its partnership had unanimously voted in favour of the investment.
Neither the Cinven page nor the firm’s release pages, as read, gives a price or a percentage holding. Valuation figures have circulated in the trade press. They are not primary sources and are not used here.
Advisers are named on the Cinven page. Grant Thornton was advised by Rothschild (M&A), DLA Piper (Legal), LEK (Commercial) and EY (Financial & Tax). Cinven was advised by Goldman Sachs International (M&A), Freshfields (Legal), Oliver Wyman (Commercial), EY (Financial & Operations) and Deloitte (Tax).
The firm’s 2025 financial report page shows the reporting perimeter. It covers combined financial statements of Grant Thornton UK LLP and Grant Thornton UK Advisory & Tax LLP and subsidiary entities, together described as the "Proforma UK Group" for the year ended 31 December 2025. The page does not set out who holds what in each LLP.
Reported results on the firm’s own pages:
- Year to 31 December 2024: +11% net revenue growth to £724m, and operating profit growth of +0.4% to £147m.
- 2025, proforma basis: +4% revenue growth to £787m, and underlying operating profit growth of 30% to £189m.
The measures differ ("net revenue" against "revenue", "operating profit" against "underlying operating profit"), as do the reporting perimeters. Year-on-year comparisons need the full reports.
Acquisitions and related deals, in date order
- 21 November 2024: Cinven announces its agreement on Grant Thornton UK. This is an investment in the firm, not an acquisition by it.
- 15 April 2025: Grant Thornton UK publishes its 2024 Annual Report. The report release says the results come as the firm completes its transaction with Cinven, having gained regulatory approvals, and that the arrangement was first announced in November 2024. It gives no calendar date for completion.
- 10 September 2025: Cinven announces a signed agreement to enter a strategic partnership with Grant Thornton Germany. The announcement says that, under the Cinven funds’ shared ownership, Grant Thornton Germany and Grant Thornton UK will strengthen their collaboration. Financial details were not disclosed.
- 13 October 2025: The Equity Partners of Grant Thornton Germany approve the partnership. The release says closing is expected in the first quarter of 2026. It also lists targeted acquisitions and team hires among the German firm’s growth levers.
- 13 July 2026: Grant Thornton UK announces the Fairgrove acquisition.
On the sources cited, Fairgrove is the only acquisition by Grant Thornton UK itself. The German transaction is Cinven’s. It is listed because the Cinven page ties the two firms together. Our Tally note on the firm’s published deal count is Grant Thornton: 310 deals in 2025, up from 292.
What is not known
- Price and stake. No page read gives the Cinven price or percentage, or the Fairgrove terms.
- Completion date of the UK investment. The 15 April 2025 report release says the transaction was being completed after regulatory approvals, but gives no completion date.
- Whether the German partnership has closed. The sources cited give an expected first-quarter 2026 close and no completion notice.
- Entity detail. The page text does not say which LLP holds which functions or who its members are. Companies House filings for both LLPs are the place to look.
- Further UK acquisitions after 13 July 2026. None were found in the sources checked.
Updates
- 15 October 2026: first version.
Editorial assessment
What follows is our own reading of the ownership record, not a statement taken from the filings cited.
- The first domestic acquisition came more than a year after the Cinven agreement. On the record read, the firm’s activity under Cinven has been hiring and one acquisition, not a run of deals.
- Cinven’s "shared ownership" language links the UK and German firms. Cross-border collaboration looks like a stated aim of the investor, though the pages do not describe how it works in practice.
- Public sources give no way to tell which entity would contract in a future deal, because the reporting group spans both LLPs.
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Latest Grant Thornton UK acquisition | Fairgrove, release dated 13 Jul 2026 | GT UK release |
| Release describes it as | First domestic acquisition since Cinven’s investment | Same |
| Fairgrove price and stake | Not stated in text read | Same |
| Cinven agreement on Grant Thornton UK | Majority investment, announced 21 Nov 2024 | Cinven |
| UK partners | Significant shareholder retained, per Cinven | Same |
| Year to 31 Dec 2024 | Net revenue +11% to £724m; operating profit £147m | GT UK 2024 report |
| 2025 (proforma) | Revenue +4% to £787m; underlying operating profit +30% to £189m | GT UK 2025 report |
| Grant Thornton Germany | Cinven agreement 10 Sep 2025; partner approval 13 Oct 2025; close expected first quarter of 2026 | Cinven, Germany |
| German completion | No completion notice in the sources cited | – |
| UK investment completion date | Not stated in the sources cited | – |
