Shaw Gibbs buys travel-sector specialist WhiteHart to deepen niche advisory
What's the deal? Shaw GibbsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a top 35 UK accountancy, tax and business advisory group, has acquired Richmond-based White Hart AssociatesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a specialist firm serving the travel sector. The price was not disclosed. WhiteHart will keep its name and team, operating as part of the Shaw Gibbs Group.
What each side brings: WhiteHart advises more than 300 travel businesses, pairing audit, accountancy and tax with corporate finance and travel regulatory expertise spanning ATOL, ABTA, ABTOT and IATA requirements. Family-owned, it took its first travel client in 1979. Shaw Gibbs now has 21 offices across the South of the UK and Ireland, with 82 partners and nearly 900 staff.
Why now? The deal follows ECI PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →' investment in Shaw Gibbs, announced in September 2026, which the group calls the start of its next growth phase. ECI succeeded Apiary CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, under which Shaw Gibbs completed 14 acquisitions.
What's the endgame? Shaw Gibbs wants to be, in chief executive officer Peter O'Connell's words, "the natural home for specialist practices that want to flourish." The purchase adds niche travel capability rather than scale, giving WhiteHart clients access to wider technical specialisms while retaining the personal service they know.
In their words: WhiteHart managing director Nikki Spoor said finding "the right long-term home" mattered, citing a partner that understood its client relationships while offering investment and broader expertise.
The signal: The acquisition shows the UK accountancy buy-and-build push continuing under new private-equity ownership. It fits a wider consolidation trend — in August, PE-backed AffiniaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → bought rival consolidator Wilson PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — but points to a shift: consolidators are now buying to deepen specialist services, not just to add geography or scale.
Read more: business-money.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
