Updates

Eversheds Sutherland joins Faculty

Global law firm Eversheds Sutherland’s corporate finance team has joined the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty. The UK-based corporate finance partners who have joined the faculty are:

• Nigel Cooke, Birmingham-based specialist in industrials M&A;
• Ben Davis, head of private credit;
• Jubilee Easo, co-head of global energy;
• Jon Gill, head of TMT M&A and venture;
• Lee Harris, specialist in life sciences M&A;
• Stephen Nash, head of UK plc advisory;
• Paul Pugh, head of financial services M&A;
• Theresa-Marie Stodell, real estate M&A specialist;
• James Trevis, head of private equity; and
• Antony Walsh, international head of corporate.

The team brings broad sector and product coverage, alongside regional perspective, to the faculty, whilst Walsh brings cross-border leadership and strategic deal oversight.

Eversheds Sutherland has a global deal operation, with an integrated international M&A team operating from 70-plus offices in more than 30 countries. The firm is organised by sector and sub-sector. Its deal advisory services are built around and coordinated through its core London team, which leads and manages multi-jurisdictional transactions supported by local expertise. “This model is designed to combine local market knowledge with the capacity to deliver transactions at scale across multiple jurisdictions,” says Gill.

The firm advises on around 800 M&A transactions across the world each year. Over the past decade, the UK corporate finance team has expanded significantly, both in size and sector specialism. The practice advises across the full spectrum of corporate finance matters, including public and private M&A, private equity buyouts and exits, minority investments and venture capital financings, IPOs and ongoing plc advisory, carve-outs, joint ventures and complex cross-border restructurings.

Recent engagements include:

• The $4.2bn sale of Edwards’ Critical Care product group to BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) – Eversheds Sutherland led all non-US aspects of the transaction, which required coordinated legal input across multiple jurisdictions.
• Perwyn Private Equity’s sale of Lowe Rental Group to MML Keystone.
• Safran Corporate Ventures and Orlen VC’s $28m lead series B financing of OXCCU, aligning a broad consortium of corporate and financial investors.

“The rationale for joining the faculty is pretty clear,” said Walsh. “Modern corporate finance is multidisciplinary and relational. Faculty membership embeds our firm within the same professional community as accountants, bankers, private equity investors, corporate finance advisers and in-house teams – the professionals who collectively structure, negotiate and execute complex transactions. For Eversheds Sutherland, the faculty provides direct market insight, collaboration and referral opportunities, and the ability to engage meaningfully with advisers who frequently sit on the same deal teams.”

White Oak joins Faculty

The asset-based finance team of White Oak, a specialist funder to SMEs in the UK, has joined the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty. White Oak came into being in the UK when White Oak Global Advisors acquired LDF in June 2018. White Oak Global Advisors is a San Francisco-headquartered SEC-registered investment manager with $6.4bn AUM globally and more than 500 employees working in 17 offices in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.

In the UK, White Oak has a £500m loan book, and provides mid-market businesses with SME loans, invoice financing and asset-based lending products. It has around 150 employees based in its three offices – in London, Glasgow and its Chester head office.

Late last year Jeremy Harrison joined White Oak as managing director and head of UK asset-based lending (ABL). He previously held senior positions at Bank of America and ABN AMRO in London, Dublin, and New York; before that he worked for Lloyds and GE Capital. Michael Levenstein also joined, as business development director from Investec, and Farida Shields was seconded from Forvis Mazars to join the ABL team as an analyst.

“In recent years we have seen growth in asset-based lending, and shifts to different types and different sources of financing – there are now more private credit funds than ever. Our focus is on lending to UK companies that are looking to export,” said Harrison. “Several of the previous firms I worked for were members of the Corporate Finance Faculty, so I know the great networking opportunities the faculty offers to those working in the M&A ecosystem. Being part of this network will also provide us with vital market intelligence.”

HR due diligence guideline launch

The Corporate Finance Faculty’s HR Due Diligence guideline, authored by Deloitte, was launched in December at Chartered Accountants’ Hall. The guideline explores the cultural and people-related risks and opportunities in deals processes, the scope of HR due diligence, and the interplay with other due diligence streams, plus how HR due diligence is adapted for different types of transactions, jurisdictions, industries and sectors, and types of client.

Deloitte UK M&A leader Gurm Dhillon gave the opening speech, in which he stressed the ever-increasing importance of HR due diligence in M&A processes.

Louise Hunter, head of HR due diligence at Deloitte, gave a detailed presentation on the challenges and opportunities in HR diligence. “People may think it’s less tangible, but there is an analytical, numbers-driven way to look at HR issues,” she said. “Businesses are increasingly realising that they need to pay more attention to some of these levers that perhaps have been a little bit taken for granted in the past.”

A panel discussion on best practices in HR due diligence followed, moderated by ICAEW head of corporate finance David Petrie, who noted: “HR due diligence gives new owners of a business the ability to understand where its people-based competitive advantage comes from.”

The panel comprised:

• Melissa Bruno, people advisory partner at BDO;
• Andrew Howard, employment lawyer at Deloitte;
• Harriet Innes, private equity M&A people specialist at Deloitte;
• Nicole Jones, head of talent for the portfolio support group at Advent; and
• Kathleen Maes, BT Group HR director.

Next month’s Corporate Financier has an expanded feature on HR due diligence. You can download the guideline at HR due diligence.

Dates for your diary

10 February: M&A careers & AI

The next Corporate Finance Faculty careers event – M&A careers & AI: The human differentiator – will be held at One Moorgate Place Club at Chartered Accountants’ Hall, on 10 February 2026 from 6pm to 8pm.

The guest speaker will be Charindra Pathiwille, Deloitte managing partner for UK strategy, risks and transactions advisory, which comprises transaction services, forensic advisory, corporate finance, performance improvement and real estate advisory.

The event will offer valuable insights into how corporate financiers can thrive in an increasingly AI-assisted profession.

Previous events have attracted younger members of the Corporate Finance Faculty and ACAs looking at corporate finance as a career option. Attendance constitutes two hours of verifiable CPD for ACAs.

Please visit M&A careers & AI to book a place.

21 April: Public to private guideline

The Corporate Finance Faculty will launch its first best practice guideline of 2026 – Public to Private (PTP) Transactions – at a breakfast networking event on 21 April at Chartered Accountants’ Hall.

The guideline, produced by the faculty and co-authored by faculty member firms PwC and Travers Smith, will inform and support professionals navigating the complexities of taking a company from public to private ownership. Aimed at boards, investors and advisers, it will provide clarity and transparency, and outline best market practice.

“PTPs involve significant regulatory, financial and stakeholder considerations, which are often under intense scrutiny,” said Katerina Joannou, ICAEW senior manager, capital markets policy. “This guideline comes at a particularly timely moment of continued enthusiasm from private equity buyers for PTP deals. PTP continues to be a vital source of deal flow for both buyers and advisers.”

Book a place at Public to Private (PTP) Transactions.

Tax incentives consultation

HM Treasury has launched a call for evidence to gather views on tax policy support for investment in high-growth UK companies.

“The UK has notable strengths for founding and growing companies, including a robust start-up system, and a number of effective tax incentives for high-growth UK firms,” it said. “However, the UK also faces a particular short-fall in domestic scale-up capital. This is creating an ‘incubator’ economy, where some of our most innovative ideas, companies and founders feel compelled to move abroad.”

HM Treasury hopes to hear from business founders and scaling firms on the effectiveness of existing tax incentives, the wider tax system, and how the UK can better support companies to start, scale and stay in the UK.

The deadline for feedback is 28 February 2026. The Corporate Finance Faculty is assisting the Tax Faculty in its response, on behalf of the ICAEW. Faculty members who wish to contribute should submit comments to ICAEW senior corporate finance manager katerina.joannou@icaew.com before 21 February.