Grant Thornton’s Gatwick office announces senior promotion

Grant Thornton UK LLP, a business and financial advisory firm with offices across the South East, has promoted Martin Verrall to transaction tax partner in its south region.

Since joining the firm as a graduate 15 years ago, Martin has gained a range of experience at Grant Thornton, including spending the last decade working in transactions.

Alan Richardson, head of South Tax at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “Martin’s appointment is a great example of our commitment to developing what is already a highly talented team.

“Thanks to his impressive skills and expertise, he’s ideal for not only providing the businesses in the South with first-rate advice and guidance but also in supporting our regional specialists and helping elevate them to the next level.”

Most recently, Martin has been focused on leading transaction tax on the selling side – his new role will see him supporting the growth of this practice.

Aside from this, Martin will be charged with leading a team of ten, located across the South East, from his base at the Gatwick office, supported by other VAT and employment specialists. He will also continue to advise business owners on selling their company.

Martin Verrall, transaction tax partner at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “This is an exciting time to be appointed to partner at Grant Thornton and I’m looking forward to helping further develop what is already an exceptional team.

“Having been at Grant Thornton my whole career, I can attest to the fact that it is a very people-focused environment that’s committed to each person’s continuous development. The firm invests in talent and our ideas, and my ambition is to now offer the same guidance to the next generation.

“The collaborative culture at Grant Thornton makes it a very rewarding space. One example of this is the close relationship between the corporate finance and tax teams, which enables us to deliver a seamless service that achieves fantastic results.

“In addition, the hybrid nature of how we work means clients benefit from individual’s strengths and expertise based on their needs, as opposed to who is geographically closest.”

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Martin’s appointment comes at a time when the South’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is thriving, having seen a bumper year for deals activity. The South’s historic position as having the highest number of transactions outside of London also remains true.

On this, Martin said: “While businesses are currently facing many challenges, the South is full of creative, vibrant and entrepreneurial companies and there are a lot of interesting opportunities out there.

“We have a very active private equity sector in the UK looking to invest in successful Southern business and we’ve also witnessed a rise in employee ownership - a valuable ‘alternative’ exit route which gives businesses and owners a viable exit route where ‘traditional’ exit routes such as trade and private equity deals would not be appropriate.

“We all recognise the economic headwinds and this can be seen in some deal processes taking longer as well as a greater emphasis on deferred consideration such as earnouts. As a result, now more than ever we are encouraging business leaders to spend more time in the planning stage of an exit event so that they have as smooth a process as possible.”

John O’Mahony, tax partner who heads up Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Gatwick office, said: “There’s a really buoyant market in the South for transactions right now which is driving a lot of demand for specialist advice and information.

“Martin’s role as a transaction tax partner will really help to grow the size and capabilities of the team, ensuring that it is meeting this need and helping the region’s companies achieve their goals.

“This appointment is just one of the many ways we’re continuing to invest in our South tax operations, which in turn benefits a wide range of other crucial M&A and transactions services thanks to the interconnected, synergistic way that we work.”

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