Shaw Gibbs has acquired Richmond-based White Hart Associates, a travel sector specialist supporting more than 300 travel businesses, following ECI Partners’ investment, a deal that matters broadly because it adds regulatory travel expertise to a group serving about 25,000 clients, and matters specifically to accountancy professionals because ATOL holders need accounts signed off by designated accountants, which makes sector knowledge a licensing requirement rather than a preference.

Shaw Gibbs is an Oxford-headquartered top 35 UK accountancy group backed by private equity firm ECI Partners since September, with 21 offices across southern England and Ireland.

WhiteHart is a family-owned Richmond firm that took its first travel client in 1979, became White Hart Associates in 1996 when it obtained audit licences, and offers audit, tax, corporate finance and ATOL, ABTA, ABTOT and IATA advisory work.

Nikki Spoor, managing director of WhiteHart, said the firm wanted a long-term partner that understood its client relationships and specialist position and could provide investment, and that joining gives clients broader expertise while keeping personal service. Peter O’Connell, chief executive of Shaw Gibbs, said the group wants to be the natural home for specialist practices that want to flourish. WhiteHart will keep its name and team.

The licensing link is the commercial core. The Civil Aviation Authority runs a scheme under which designated accountants must verify the financial information ATOL holders submit, and the recognised professional bodies include the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, now Chartered Accountants Ireland.

The test itself is financial. The CAA assesses ATOL applicants on ratios such as current ratio, cash ratio and leverage, requires minimum paid-up capital of 30,000 pounds (about 35,000 euros) for new licences, and needs figures on an Annual Accountants’ Report signed off by an ATOL Reporting Accountant.

The buyer’s model fits that depth. Shaw Gibbs has completed 14 acquisitions since 2022 and grown from about 100 employees to more than 800, including Irish practice Crowleys DFK, so a regulated niche practice extends a proven approach.

For the sector, the deal shows private equity-backed groups paying for regulatory specialisms that carry licence-linked work, not only for scale.

Source: International Accounting Bulletin / Civil Aviation Authority / Alton / Accountancy Today