Shaw Gibbs partners with ECI to continue delivering exceptional accounting services to clients across the UK and Ireland
ECI Partners, the growth-focused mid-market private equity firm, announces its investment in Shaw Gibbs, a top 35 practice which supports private individuals, entrepreneurial businesses, public sector/non‑profit organisations and international groups with tailored accounting, tax and advisory services.
The investment marks the next chapter in Shaw Gibbs’ growth journey and provides a full realisation for Apiary Capital, which has supported the business since 2022.
Founded on a commitment to building strong, long-term client relationships, Shaw Gibbs has established itself as one of the UK’s leading accountancy, tax and business advisory firms servicing c.25,000 clients. Combining local service, deep technical expertise and innovative solutions, the business helps clients navigate increasingly complex financial and regulatory environments through a comprehensive suite of advisory, accounting, tax and audit services.
Since Apiary’s investment in 2022 the business has completed 14 acquisitions, expanding its reach across the UK and Ireland. Recent additions, including Alliotts, Martin and Company, and Crowleys DFK in Ireland, strengthened the group’s regional footprint to support clients through local relationships backed by national scale.
Shaw Gibbs’ focus on its employee value proposition has supported its growth, creating an entrepreneurial and collaborative culture, strong training and development programmes, and long-term progression pathways. This has helped support leading employee retention rates and longevity of customer relationships.
Shaw Gibbs selected ECI as its partner for the next phase of growth, recognising ECI’s experience supporting relationship-led businesses and its track record in financial services with investments including KB Associates and IGG.
Peter O’Connell, CEO of Shaw Gibbs: “This investment reflects the strength of our business, the success of our strategy, and our continued position as a firm of choice for talented people, clients and high-quality firms looking to join us. With Apiary Capital’s support, we have built a market leading accountancy firm, and I am excited to partner with ECI for this next stage of our growth. They understand our focus on culture and clients and offer hands on support for continuing to invest in in the team and innovation through technology, which will support further sustainable growth. This is an important milestone for Shaw Gibbs, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the whole team.”
Michael Butler, partner at ECI: “Shaw Gibbs stood out to us as one of the most client-centric businesses in the accountancy space, with the platform to scale their consistently high-quality service. Their breadth of offering, culture and employee proposition, on top of a track record of integrating high-quality businesses, gives them an excellent platform for further growth. We’re excited to work with the management team to deliver on that opportunity together.”
Chris Heawood, partner at Apiary Capital: “We are incredibly proud to have been a part of Shaw Gibbs’ journey following our initial investment almost four years ago. Since then, Peter and the wider leadership team have transformed the business, growing the team from 100 to over 800 people, while retaining a dynamic and collaborative culture, and continuing to deliver exceptional client service. We look forward to following Shaw Gibbs’ continuing growth story under ECI ownership.”