Grant Thornton France, Grant Thornton Spain and Grant Thornton Belgium will be joining Grant Thornton’s growing platform. Eleven Grant Thornton member firms have banded together under a unified platform backed by the New Mountain Capital-led investor group.
With the new additions, the Grant Thornton Advisors platform aims to accelerate growth in the French, Spanish and Belgian markets.
Grant Thornton France has become one of the largest firms in the Grant Thornton International Limited (GTIL) network, with 2,800 employees across 24 offices. Similarly, Grant Thornton Spain is a significant member of the Grant Thornton network, with thousands of clients serviced by nearly 900 professionals across 10 locations. Grant Thornton Belgium has more than 250 professionals experienced in services related to cross-border mandates and mergers and acquisitions, as well as a range of audit, accounting, tax, legal and advisory needs.
The entire Grant Thornton Advisors platform will continue to be part of the GTIL network, comprising member firms in more than 150 markets worldwide.
The transactions are all expected to close in the coming weeks.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Taylor Wessing, ECIJA and EY Abogados provided transaction services to Grant Thornton Advisors. Major advisors to Grant Thornton France included: Sycomore Corporate Finance; Osborne Clarke; BakerHostetler; and Ogier. Grant Thorton Spain was advised by PwC and Baker McKenzie. The Belgian firm was advised by law firm Baker McKenzie.
Jim Peko, CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors, said, “Expanding the platform into France, Spain and Belgium is a defining chapter in our journey and represents a sea change in how our industry serves clients. We’re furthering our commitment to growth across services, industries and geographies. And we’re solidifying Grant Thornton as the platform of choice for talent and technology, underpinned by exceptional quality and our one-of-a-kind culture. We set out to build something bold and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Steve Tennant, managing partner at Grant Thornton Ireland, said, “Ireland was the first building block in Grant Thornton Advisors’ strategic multinational expansion, and we’ve seen firsthand the benefits of integrating our people, resources and client services into a unified platform. Adding France, Spain and Belgium builds on that momentum, creating an unmatched presence across the European Union and many other markets.”
Adam Nicol, president of Grant Thornton France, said, “France is one of the most active, rapidly evolving business markets on the continent — making this the ideal moment for our firm to execute our own transformation. Committed to quality and a truly unified approach, we are poised to rapidly accelerate our scale in Europe and deliver differentiated multidisciplinary offerings to our broad client base.”
Ramón Galcerán, president of Grant Thornton Spain, said, “Our team is very excited to be joining this multinational platform, which has already demonstrated clear benefits for its constituent firms. We look forward to dramatically enhancing our growth strategy with unparalleled access to technology, insights and capital at scale.”
Leslie Van den Branden, managing partner of Grant Thornton Belgium, said, “Joining this powerhouse platform marks a strategic step forward for our firm. It strengthens our ability to deepen global collaboration while remaining deeply connected to our local clients. Above all, it enables us to further invest in our people and our clients, and the technologies that strengthen our capabilities and empower our teams. With our proven expertise and strategic location at the heart of European business, we’re confident this important milestone will drive innovation and accelerate long-term growth.”
Andre Moura and Nikhil Devulapalli, managing directors at New Mountain Capital, said, “We couldn’t be more pleased to admit France, Spain and Belgium to the global unified platform. The visionary leadership of these firms embodies the best of Grant Thornton, and today’s news is yet another example of our commitment to invest in people, technology and expanded capabilities for the ultimate benefit of Grant Thornton’s clients. We’re just getting started.”
