Reading: PwC invests in deals advisory team to boost offering across the South

PwC has announced three new key roles to strengthen and expand the deals lead advisory team in the firm’s flagship Reading office.

Tim Armstrong joins the award-winning Reading team as a director having spent the last twelve years working in the East of England. He has extensive experience of supporting businesses through traditional mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity as well as accelerated and stressed transactions.

Adam Horey joins PwC Reading from the London office and is a director in the debt and capital advisory team. He is an ex-leveraged and principal finance banker with a track record in helping businesses raise debt finance to support growth and expansion.

Jeremy Bate, an assistant director in the corporate finance team has also joined the team, having worked extensively in London for a number of years.

 The trio will bring significant expertise to the Reading deals lead advisory team, which supports shareholders and directors in analysing their strategic options and help them navigate the various aspects of debt and equity processes.

The appointments further boost the size and scope of the Reading office which scooped the Due Diligence Team of the Year at the 2018 Thames Valley Deals Awards - an impressive fourth win in the past five years.

In addition to the number of high-profile deals, the award judges noted PwC’s investment in the region as a whole. PwC has doubled the size of the Reading deals team over the past year, with seven new partners and directors joining the team, with the other additions being Russell Taylor, Devean George, Matt Lister, Tony Davies  and Grit Young, focusing primarily on a combination of due diligence, valuations and financial decision and analysis support.

Commenting on the new appointments PwC partner and head of deals in the South Jason Wakelam, said that PwC was experiencing a growth in demand for specialist expertise and reinforcing the Reading team was the response:

“According to the Centre for Cities Outlook 2018, Reading is the top-pick location for pay and productivity outside London. Productivity is 25% above the national average, nearly half of the town's workforce is educated to degree level and, after London, and Reading has the highest number of business start-ups.

“We’re now delivering London levels of support for those businesses, with some great new people and expanded lead advisory services. Our Reading-based Regional Lead Advisory role encompasses a variety of core services including M&A, Debt Advisory, Distressed financial and operational restructuring, Pensions advisory and corporate simplification.

Jason Wakelam says the goal is to bringer greater critical mass to PwC’s lead advisory offering in the South region, providing greater on the ground presence and the opportunity to proactively support more of the companies that increasingly need these services.

“Ultimately we are trying to better serve our clients in the region and deliver a complete service that could previously only be fully resourced out of London,” he said.