Financial DD of Cooper Parry LLP to Waterland

Cooper Parry’s award-winning teams support like-minded entrepreneurial businesses across the UK and overseas, covering the spectrum of Audit, Tax, R&D, Tech & High Growth, Outsourced Finance Services, Corporate Finance and Wealth Management. In recent years, the Company has grown market share by successfully pivoting from a generalist to a specialist approach, providing tech-enabled accountancy services for high growth technology companies and established businesses across a range of end markets.

With origins dating back to 1850, Cooper Parry’s disruptive new approach was born 20 years ago, driven by changes made by the current leadership. The new generation of Partners dramatically overhauled the Company’s strategy and brand to reflect a more disruptive, innovative and culture-centric approach to professional services.

Waterland is an independent private equity firm founded in The Netherlands in 1999. Over the last 23 years, Waterland has made investments in over 880 companies across over 80 markets. Waterland manages €9 billion in funds and has teams based in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark, France and Spain and operates across Europe.

Waterland specialises in enabling entrepreneurial businesses to expand in their home markets and across Europe though proactive buy-and-build strategies. Other professional services businesses recently backed by Waterland include Moore Belgium, the mid-market accountancy business, Horn & Company, Sideshow Group and IMC Group.

Under the terms of the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, Cooper Parry will convert into a limited company with Waterland as a significant shareholder and the Partners retaining a substantial equity stake.

The Eight Advisory financial team comprised of Rupert Templeman, Alison Harutunian, David Leurs and Archer Tawney.