Kirkland advises as Warburg Pincus backs new Big Four challenger
Warburg Pincus has backed Unity Advisory, a new CFO-focused consultancy launched by former PwC and EY leaders, with up to $300 million in funding.
Kirkland & Ellis is advising on the deal, which marks another private equity play in the professional services space.
Kirkland & Ellis is advising Warburg Pincus on its investment in Unity Advisory, a new CFO-focused consulting firm launched by two former senior executives from PwC and EY to take on the Big Four.
The new firm - led by ex-PwC UK managing partner Marissa Thomas and former EY UK chair (and current DWF chair) Steve Varley - has launched with backing of up to $300 million from the US private equity giant, alongside a personal stake from the founders.
Unity is planning to target mid-market companies and will offer tax, finance, deal readiness and digital transformation services - but no audit - in a bid to sidestep the conflicts issues that can dog its larger rivals.
Latest private capital play in professional services
Unity Advisory is the latest example of growing private equity interest in the accounting and professional services sector. Warburg Pincus previously invested in Evelyn Partners’ professional services business which was bought by Apax in December and rebranded as S&W.
That followed a wave of activity in the accounting sector, including Cinven's acquisition of a majority stake in Grant Thornton UK last November, and US buyout house Lee Equity's investment in Cooper Parry in December.
Co-founder Varley also serves as chair of law firm DWF, itself owned by private equity since Inflexion took it private in 2023 for £342 million.
In comments to the Financial Times in April, Varley described Unity as "AI-led rather than based on legacy infrastructure", positioning it as a tech-first, low admin cost alternative to the Big Four which can be constrained by audit conflicts.
Headquartered in London, Unity aims to expand internationally, and has already begun hiring from the Big Four. Its initial line-up includes ex-PwC partner David Tapnack as managing partner, plus additional senior talent hired from the Big Four.
Advising
Kirkland’s team advising Warburg Pincus is led by London corporate partners Adrian Maguire and Jiri Peterka, alongside tax partner Peter Abbott.
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