Affinia announced on 24 August 2026 that Nokes & Co, a Billericay practice, had joined the group. That is the latest acquisition on Affinia’s own news page as at 15 October 2026. The group is backed by RedBird Capital Partners, which agreed in April 2026 to take it over from Sovereign Capital Partners.
Correct as at 15 October 2026.
Latest dated event
Affinia’s news page carries the Nokes & Co announcement under 24 August 2026. Nokes & Co is a Billericay accountancy practice. The announcement does not state a price, a consideration structure or the number of partners and staff moving across.
Nokes & Co followed the Wilson Partners combination, which Affinia announced on 6 August 2026. As at 15 October 2026 the news list shows no acquisition announcement dated after 24 August 2026.
Consolidator at a glance
| Owner/backer | Sector | Known acquisitions (dated) | Sources | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RedBird Capital Partners (agreement announced 20 April 2026); previously Sovereign Capital Partners (invested May 2023) | Accountancy, tax, audit, corporate finance, payroll | Green & Purple (18 Dec 2025); three UHY Hacker Young offices (agreed 4 Feb 2026); Wilson Partners (6 Aug 2026); Nokes & Co (24 Aug 2026) | RedBird release; Sovereign investment page; Affinia: Nokes & Co; Affinia: Wilson Partners; Affinia news list | 15 Oct 2026 |
Ownership structure
RedBird’s release is dated 20 April 2026. It says RedBird "reached an agreement to partner with management to acquire Affinia". It describes the deal as the exit of Sovereign Capital Partners. The release gives no price and no split of equity between RedBird, management and any co-investors. Our note on the sale is RedBird agrees to buy Affinia from Sovereign.
Sovereign’s investment page says it invested in LB Group in May 2023. It also says "In June 2026, Affinia was acquired by RedBird Capital Partners." The April release records an agreement, and Sovereign’s page gives a June completion. The two documents use different verbs and different months, and neither gives a completion date. We did not find one for the RedBird step in the RedBird, Affinia or Sovereign pages, in the Companies House records we opened for the Affinia companies, or in the FCA Register listing for Affinia. The month of completion rests on Sovereign’s page alone.
RedBird’s release says the firm manages $14 billion in assets and was founded in 2014 by Gerry Cardinale. It also says Affinia will work with RedBird X, its proprietary artificial intelligence platform.
The release names advisers. Affinia and Sovereign were advised by Ardea Partners, BCG, KPMG, Alvarez & Marsal, Proskauer and DWF. RedBird used Lincoln International for debt, K&E for legal and Deloitte for financial and tax. Management were advised by DWF and Jamieson. The release does not say whether Lincoln International’s role means acquisition debt was raised, or how much.
Acquisitions in order
- May 2023: Sovereign invests in LB Group. Sovereign’s page says the Buy & Build programme "transformed LB Group into Affinia".
- 2 December 2024: Sovereign’s news archive lists "LB Group completes sixth acquisition and launches Affinia".
- 18 December 2025: Sovereign’s news archive lists Affinia’s acquisition of Cambridge-based Green & Purple, an outsourced finance business.
- 4 February 2026: Sovereign’s note of that date reports that Affinia has agreed to combine with the London, Nottingham and Brighton offices of UHY Hacker Young, subject to regulatory and other approvals. Sovereign’s note gives the combined figures as £100m revenue, 1,000 people and 17 offices. The group would operate as UHY Affinia. Sovereign says this took the total number of additions since its investment to 14. The London and Nottingham offices were run by UHY Hacker Young LLP and Brighton by UHY Hacker Young SE Limited. RedBird’s April release says Affinia "owns three of the UK businesses of UHY". Sovereign’s note gives no completion date. Companies House records "Affinia Group Holdings Limited as a person with significant control on 27 February 2026" for UHY Hacker Young LLP, and Robert John Harden appointed a member of the LLP on the same date. Those are filings made on 3 and 10 March 2026, not a statement that the combination completed. When we looked on 24 October 2026, the register of people with significant control for UHY Hacker Young (S.E.) Limited, the Brighton entity, still listed three individuals, so we have no filing that dates the Brighton step.
- 18 May 2026: Affinia welcomes KRW Accountants. Affinia’s post says KRW "has been supporting business owners since 2009, offering fixed-fee accounting and tax compliance services". The post gives no price or terms.
- 6 August 2026: Affinia welcomes Wilson Partners.
- 24 August 2026: Nokes & Co joins.
The deal counts differ by document and date. Sovereign put total additions at 14 on 4 February 2026. RedBird’s April release says Affinia has "integrated 15" firms. Sovereign’s investment page says 17 acquisitions since 2023. The documents do not say how each count treats the UHY offices or a combination of offices. Our note on the combination with three UHY Hacker Young offices is Affinia takes three UHY Hacker Young offices.
What is not known
- The price paid by RedBird, and the price for every bolt-on named above. No page cited gives one.
- RedBird’s equity stake, management’s holding, and any debt raised. The sources cited do not give them.
- The completion date of the RedBird transaction, and the completion date of the combination with the Brighton office of UHY Hacker Young.
- The size of the Wilson Partners business. Affinia’s page gives group totals only. Sovereign’s page gives 19 offices at the point of the RedBird deal.
- Whether the sellers of any bolt-on receive deferred or rolled-over consideration. No page cited says.
- The status of the 10 other UHY Hacker Young network members. They are outside this file except as described by Sovereign.
Updates
- 24 October 2026: added the KRW Accountants entry from Affinia’s own post and the Companies House dates for UHY Hacker Young LLP; stated which completion dates remain unpublished.
- 15 October 2026: first version.
Editorial assessment
What follows is the view of our editors; the filings cited do not state it.
- Announcement and completion dates should be tracked separately for this group. The April agreement and the June completion on Sovereign’s page show the gap, and the UHY completion is dated only by Companies House filings for one of its entities.
- Affinia’s chief executive is quoted in RedBird’s release as wanting the platform to appeal to future partner firms. Two deals in August 2026 are consistent with continued bolt-on activity under RedBird, but two deals do not set a pace.
- A practice approached by Affinia could ask what the consideration and rollover terms are. None of the group’s public pages states them, so any comparison with other buyers would rest on private information.
Summary of checks
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Latest announced acquisition | Nokes & Co, 24 August 2026 | Affinia news page |
| Backer | RedBird Capital Partners | RedBird release |
| RedBird agreement date | 20 April 2026 | RedBird release |
| Completion date of RedBird deal | Not stated; Sovereign page says June 2026 | Sovereign investment page |
| Previous backer | Sovereign, invested May 2023 | Sovereign investment page |
| Price of RedBird deal | Not disclosed in the documents cited | RedBird release |
| UHY combination | Agreed 4 February 2026; £100m, 1,000 people, 17 offices. UHY Hacker Young LLP: Affinia Group Holdings Limited notified as PSC on 27 February 2026 | Sovereign news note; Companies House |
| Wilson Partners | 6 August 2026 | Affinia news page |
| Acquisition counts | 14 (Feb), 15 (Apr), 17 (investment page) | Sovereign; RedBird |
