KPMG UK merges consulting and deal advisory units – but says it isn’t linked to recent job cuts
KPMG UK is merging its consulting and deal advisory units, with the firm stressing the move was not linked to recent job cuts tied to the collapse in dealmaking, Morning Wire can reveal.
KPMG UK will merge the two units to create a new practice called ‘Advisory’, which will start serving existing and new clients from the start of next year. Approximately 6,700 UK staff will end up working under the new Advisory business.
The move comes after the firm confirmed last week it will cut about 110 jobs in its deal advisory team – roughly seven per cent of its 1,700 strong UK deals business.
But the head of the new business, Lisa Fernihough, told Morning Wire that the decision was not linked to the recent cuts.
“We have seen softening in the deals market and we’ve seen a number of projects with clients where there has been either pauses or delays,” she said, adding that it was a “difficult decision” to go ahead with the layoffs.
“This coming together, however, is about growth and opportunity. It’s not about the targeted redundancies that we do from time to time,” she said.
“These are definitely not linked. I’ve been in the conversations leading up to both of them and they were for different reasons,” she added.
Fernihough said the merger will help better meet clients needs, simplify the firm’s structure and enable greater professional development of its staff.
“We are at our very best when we collaborate, and our new Advisory capability will allow us to focus on delivering for clients by supercharging collaboration across our teams,” Fernihough said.
The decision follows similar changes adopted by other KPMG country divisions, such as the US and global member firms, in previous years, which the firm said was “working successfully”.
Dealmaking has slumped significantly this year, both in the UK and globally.
In the UK, mergers and acquisitions have cratered to a 14-year low this year as rising interest rates and volatile prices scuppered a predicted wave of takeovers.
M&A deals with any UK involvement came in at $176.1bn (£144.7bn), down 45 per cent on a sluggish 2022, according to recent data from the London Stock Exchange Group.
Asked when the dealmaking environment will start to improve in the UK, Fernihough said: “I think our best bet at this moment is we’re looking at probably next spring,” but added that there was “a whole host of things”, including the direction of interest rates and the possibility of a general election, that could significantly change that outlook.