HLB Ireland has acquired Galway-based OMB Chartered Accountants, its first accountancy practice west of the Shannon, a deal that matters because it extends the Cardinal Capital-backed group's consolidation drive into a region it had not previously reached, adding around 500 clients as part of a wider plan to add 150 staff over three years, and signals to accountancy professionals that private equity-backed platforms are now actively targeting independent practices outside Ireland's traditional east-coast hubs.

HLB Ireland is a Dublin-headquartered accountancy and advisory firm founded in 1976, part of the Mentora Group alongside managed technology provider FutureRange, and backed by private equity firm Cardinal Capital Partners. It has completed 13 acquisitions in recent years and employs around 200 people ahead of its planned three-year expansion.

OMB Chartered Accountants is a Galway-based practice tracing its origins to 1935, employing four partners and around 16 staff from its Steamship House office, serving roughly 500 clients with expertise across food manufacturing, construction, medical devices and private clients including medical professionals.

The deal extends a consolidation pattern that has been building steadily rather than suddenly. HLB Ireland has completed 13 acquisitions since taking Cardinal Capital's investment, closing six of those in the past 14 months alone, according to managing partner Mark Butler, who has said the backing gives the firm credibility when approaching potential merger partners.

That pace reflects a structural shift industry commentators describe as still early. Butler has said Ireland's accountancy profession remains highly fragmented with many small practices, and expects consolidation to accelerate as firms shift from a compliance-led model toward broader advisory services that require scale to deliver.

Entering the west of Ireland for the first time also gives HLB Ireland exposure to sector strengths, food manufacturing and medical devices among them, that are concentrated regionally rather than nationally, adding specialist depth alongside geographic reach.

For the sector, the deal is a further sign that private equity-backed platforms are extending beyond their established Dublin and east-coast bases into regions that had largely remained the preserve of independent local practices.

Source: The Irish Times / Irish Examiner / Accountancy Ireland