Xeinadin announced on 18 September 2026 that its chairman, Alastair Marsh, is stepping down and that board director John Dwyer takes the chair with immediate effect. Exponent Private Equity has been a minority investor in the group since 2022, and the group’s news page shows its latest acquisition post on 13 July 2026. This file records what the group and Exponent have stated about ownership and deals, and what they have not.
Current as at 15 October 2026.
Dated fact: chairman change, 18 September 2026
A group release dated 18 September 2026 says Marsh has decided to step down and Dwyer becomes chairman with immediate effect. The release says Marsh was appointed independent non-executive chairman in 2021. It names the sale of a minority shareholding to Exponent in 2022 as a milestone of his tenure.
The release describes Dwyer as having been part of the Exponent investment team, and says he joined the Xeinadin board in 2022. It does not say whether he still works for Exponent. It does not mention any change in shareholdings.
In the release, Marsh describes the group as a Top 15 accountancy firm in the UK. That is the group’s own characterisation, and no ranking source is cited.
Register table
| Owner/backer | Sector | Known acquisitions (dated) | Sources | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exponent Private Equity LLP (minority; announced 10 Feb 2022, completion stated by the group on 20 May 2022) | Accountancy and business advisory, UK and Ireland | PRB Accountants (13 Jul 2026); Crossley & Davis (15 Jun 2026); Alan W Simons & Co (1 Jun 2026); Evans Mockler, Aequitas, AGK Partners (20 Apr 2026); further 2026 posts listed below | Exponent release; Group completion release; Group news page | 15 Oct 2026 |
Ownership structure
Exponent announced on 10 February 2022 that it had agreed a strategic partnership with Xeinadin Group Limited. It described the deal as a significant minority investment. At that stage the transaction was subject to regulatory approvals.
The group’s own release, dated 20 May 2022, says the agreement had been completed. Exponent’s release said Mark Taylor and Tom Lightowler of Exponent would join the board, with John Dwyer, an Exponent Operating Partner, joining as a non-executive director.
Exponent’s release also described the group’s structure at that date. It said Xeinadin was formed through a merger of offices in 2019 and was structured into 14 regional hubs. It put the group at c.100 practices serving over 50,000 clients, and gave annual revenues as over £100 million in its latest financial year. Taylor was quoted as saying more than 95 per cent of the group’s income was recurring. That is Exponent’s statement from February 2022, not an audited figure.
The group’s chief executive, Derry Crowley, was quoted in the same release on integrating c.100 firms. Those are pre-2022 figures. No later group size or revenue figure is cited.
Neither release names the other shareholders or gives Exponent’s percentage. Neither gives a price or valuation. Xeinadin and Exponent also appear in our Tally note Kingsley Napley: 27% of 22 top-60 firms took PE.
Acquisitions in date order
The dates below are the dates on which the group published each item. They are not completion dates. All nine acquisition-tagged posts in 2026 on the news page appear in the table. The rules for dating and sourcing a deal report are on How We Source a Deal.
| Posted | Firm(s) | What the group says |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Feb 2026 | TBL Accountants | Post title refers to the Southend office |
| 2 Mar 2026 | Accountancy Cloud | Post title refers to startup-to-scaleup businesses across the UK |
| 16 Mar 2026 | GP&S (Nottingham) | Post title refers to owner-managed businesses |
| 30 Mar 2026 | Campbell Crossley & Davis | Post title refers to the Corporate Recovery team |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Evans Mockler (Barnet), Aequitas (Pinner), AGK Partners (Enfield) | More than 80 professionals joining the London team |
| 11 May 2026 | North Yorkshire advisers (firm not named in the listing title) | Post title: historic advisers join to support SMEs |
| 1 Jun 2026 | Alan W Simons & Co (Bournemouth) | Post title describes a Bournemouth accountancy practice |
| 15 Jun 2026 | Crossley & Davis (Fylde Coast) | Established 1982; four-partner team |
| 13 Jul 2026 | PRB Accountants (Haywards Heath) | Founded 1990; 18-person team led by four partners |
The 15 June post says the four partners at Crossley & Davis continue to lead client relationships. The 13 July post says PRB’s existing leadership team stays in place. Neither post discloses consideration.
Campbell Crossley & Davis (30 March) and Crossley & Davis (15 June) appear as separate posts. The pages cited do not say whether the two are related.
What is not known
- The percentage held by Exponent, and the identity and holdings of other shareholders. The releases cited do not give them.
- The price, structure or retained-equity terms of any acquisition. None of the group posts cited states them.
- Whether Dwyer remains an Exponent employee. The release uses the past tense for his time on its investment team.
- Debt providers and facility sizes. No primary page cited states them.
- Filed accounts for Xeinadin Group Limited.
- Deals reported by trade press but absent from the group news page, including London and Irish firms in 2026. The acquisition list in this file is built from Xeinadin’s own pages.
Updates
- 15 October 2026: first version.
- Next checks: the group news page for posts after 18 September 2026; Exponent’s portfolio and news pages; Companies House filings for the group entity.
Editorial assessment
Treat the next points as the desk’s interpretation of the public record; the filings themselves do not say this.
- The group’s releases give partner counts, headcount and office locations, but none of those gives price or deal terms. A partner receiving an approach cannot benchmark it against published group disclosures.
- The chairman release leaves two points open: whether the chair has moved from an independent role to an investor-linked one, and whether any shareholding changed. The release does not address either.
- No source cited states Exponent’s intended holding period or any exit plan. This file does not infer one.
Summary
| Item | Stated value | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latest dated event | Chairman handover, 18 Sep 2026 | Group release | Announced by the group |
| New chairman | John Dwyer, board director since 2022 | Group release | Announced by the group |
| Exponent investment type | Significant minority | Exponent release | Announced 10 Feb 2022 |
| Completion | Group release dated 20 May 2022 | Group release | Confirmed by the group |
| Exponent percentage | Not disclosed in the sources cited | Exponent and group releases | Unknown |
| Group size in Feb 2022 | c.100 practices, over 50,000 clients | Exponent release | Stated by Exponent, 2022 |
| Revenue in Feb 2022 | Over £100 million, latest financial year | Exponent release | Stated by Exponent, 2022 |
| Latest acquisition post | PRB Accountants, 13 Jul 2026 | Group news page | Announced by the group |
| Largest 2026 post by headcount | Three North London firms, more than 80 professionals | Group release | Announced 20 Apr 2026 |
| Deal prices | Not disclosed in the sources cited | Group news posts | Unknown |
