Alantra advises Bishop Fleming on strategic growth partnership with Synova

Jun 2025

Sell-side advisory

London – Alantra has advised Bishop Fleming LLP (“Bishop Fleming”), one of the UK’s leading mid-tier accountancy firms, on a minority investment from Synova, a leading UK private equity growth investor.

The investment will enable Bishop Fleming to accelerate its planned growth strategy to become one of the leading national firms in the UK, targeting over £200m revenues delivered by 2,000 people.

Bishop Fleming offers a full suite of audit, tax, accountancy and advisory services. Under its current Managing Partner, Andrew Sandiford, the firm has delivered exceptional results, achieving organic growth of 18% over successive years to over £48m in 2025, including impressive 20% year on year growth in its Audit service line alone.

The business has chosen to partner with Synova – the innovative growth and private equity investor, which currently manages more than £1.7bn of capital in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe across markets including Financial Services.

Over the last 12 months, Bishop Fleming has undergone significant transformation, becoming only the second accountancy firm to implement the full Workday ERP platform – a material investment designed to unlock its full potential and provide the foundation for scaling its business.

Andrew Sandiford, Managing Partner at Bishop Fleming said: “This minority investment is the next logical step to develop our business on the national stage through strategic planned M&A. We appointed Alantra to advise us through the process based on their in-depth knowledge of the accountancy M&A market and experience of professional services private equity deals. True to their reputation, they anticipated how investors would regard Bishop Fleming as a partnering opportunity, and ran a process that delivered a deal structure and valuation that exceeded the partnership’s expectations. There was clear alignment in getting to agreement with Synova and we now have the ideal partner alongside us to deliver on our strategy.”

Richard Holden, Managing Director at Alantra, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Andrew and the Bishop Fleming team over the last few months guiding them through the transaction. It is rare to find an accounting firm with such a clear focus on sustainable growth that also prioritises its client services and collaborative culture. Together with Synova they have a great future, and we look forward to watching Bishop Fleming’s growth accelerate.”

This market leading transaction represents Alantra’s eighth accountancy deal in the last 4 years, reflecting its ability to deliver successful outcomes for partner-led businesses through tailored, senior-led advice and global investor reach.