Moore Ireland, the Cork-headquartered accountancy firm backed by private equity, has merged with Galway-based DHKN as deal-making in the sector continues at pace.
The deal marks the first big strategic move by Moore Ireland following purchase by UK-based Moore Kingston Smith last summer in a deal funded by Dutch private equity firm Waterland.
The addition of DHKN’s 80 employees bring Moore Ireland’s total workforce to over 240 professionals, it said in a statement. Five DHKN partners have moved with the transaction, including Stephen Crowley and Mark Gibbs, who will take senior leadership roles in Moore Ireland.
“This is another transformational step for our business,” said Moore Ireland managing partner, Ned Murphy. “Our partnership with DHKN positions Moore to offer a compelling value proposition in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast … supported by Moore Kingston Smith in London.”
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The small- to mid-tier Irish accounting sector has seen a surge in deal making in the past two years as overseas firms, often backed by private equity money, seek to tap into the EU’s fastest growing economy and the European base for a host of global tech and pharmaceutical groups.
The attraction of private equity to the sector lies in the fact that much of accounting revenue is recurring, which makes it easier for private equity firms to fund borrowings in takeover transactions.
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For small domestic practices, the burdens of mounting regulation and compliance, technology costs and succession planning are also driving consolidation conversations in the sector.
For example, ETL Global, the German-based accounting group, entered the Irish market in early 2023 by acquiring 51 per cent of the Noone Casey practice in Dublin and has followed up with other deals.
London-based Azets also purchased Baker Tilly Ireland the same year before the firm went on to merge with rival PKF O’Connor, Leddy & Holmes in 2024.
Dains, a UK accountancy group backed by investment firm Horizons, acquired McInerney Saunders Chartered Accountants in Dublin early last year and has given the Irish firm a mandate to find follow-on deals.
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