Alistair Smith has joined Dow Schofield Watts from Deloitte as a partner in its Transaction Services team and will head up the financial due diligence service offering within the Yorkshire & North East market. He will work alongside former Deloitte Corporate Advisory Finance partner, Roger Esler, who leads Dow Schofield Watts’ operation in the region.
Alistair, a Chartered Accountant, previously worked in the Transaction Services team at KPMG in London, working on a range of corporate and mid-market transactions. These included the Ford sale of Jaguar Land Rover, the refinancing of Cobra Beer, divestment of Smurfit packaging and the flotation of Rightmove plc. Following a spell in Sydney, Australia, Alistair returned to join Deloitte working in the Restructuring Services team in Leeds, which latterly included a secondment to Barclays Bank PLC.
Alistair’s appointment brings DSW Transaction Services team across the North of England to six, including four partners. This team works closely with the 14 strong Corporate Finance team.
Alistair said: “I was extremely impressed with the calibre and the vision of Dow Schofield Watts. Its entrepreneurial spirit and ambitions to be the pre-eminent provider of M&A and advisory services across the North of England meant that this was a fantastic opportunity to replicate the partner- led model which has proved so successful in the North West.”
Roger Esler, head of the Leeds office said: “We continue to invest in our growing team in the Region and now have a partner to lead our due diligence services to complement our activities in corporate finance and forensic. We will continue to look for experienced professionals like Alistair to join our owner-managed business and anticipate further appointments this year. We also hope to be investing in regional businesses through our own fund, PHD Equity Partners.”