Oxfordshire: Clifford Brown takes the helm at Shaw Gibbs corporate finance

Oxford accountancy firm Shaw Gibbs has appointmed Clifford Brown as director and head of corporate finance.  

With over 15 years’ senior experience in the field as an adviser and in-house, Brown's work has included disposals, acquisitions, raising equity finance for growth companies, structuring MBO/MBI transactions and raising finance from £1 million to £60m. His experience spans a wide range of business sectors, including UK manufacturing, marketing services, recruitment and business process outsourcing. 

Managing director Peter O’Connell commented:  “Our client base has grown remarkably in recent years and corporate finance is in high demand from a wide and diverse business community, from startups to multinationals.  Clifford’s experience strengthens our authority and offering across the range of corporate finance services, and gives us the ability to take this division – and our firm – to new levels.  We warmly welcome Clifford to the Shaw Gibbs team.”

Brown added: “In addition to building new relationships with business owners and leaders, I am genuinely excited by the prospect of supporting our current base of clients with their strategic corporate finance aspirations.  

“I will be focusing efforts on building on and enhancing the corporate finance platform that Peter O’Connell has established to ensure that the services we offer are aligned with the needs of clients looking for support on corporate transactions.  It is a privilege for me to be welcomed to the Shaw Gibbs team at an exciting phase in the firm’s evolution and I look forward to my future with the company.”    

A chartered management accountant with an MBA from Oxford’s Said Business School, Brown joins Shaw Gibbs from a boutique corporate finance house.  He recently handled the sale of high-end health club business Clarice House Group to Bannatynes Fitness; the sale of Octavian Securities to CE Facilities Services; and the investment and MBO of Cursor Controls by Maven Capital Partners.

Prior roles include financial controller and head of financial planning and analysis at Harley-Davidson Europe and senior finance positions at Thomson Reuters, where he worked on the joint venture between Reuters Group PLC and Dow Jones that resulted in the formation of Factiva, a leading provider of business-critical information.

Clifford Brown takes over Shaw Gibbs’ corporate finance division from O’Connell. 

Contact Clifford Brown at clifford.brown@shawgibbs.com.