Grant Thornton UK appoints 84 partners in six months as growth ambitions sharpen
Forty-one equity partners have already started in the first six months of the year, with an additional 43 in the pipeline, as its two-year partnership expansion programme progresses at pace.
Leading business and financial advisor Grant Thornton UK today confirms it has appointed 84 new partners so far this year. Forty-one have already started in 2026 and a further 43 are in the pipeline, with confirmed start dates.
Of the 84 appointments to date, 29 (or 35%) are internal promotions – underlining the firm’s commitment to developing and advancing talent from within, alongside targeted external recruitment. Among them, five have progressed all the way from associate level, having built long-term careers with the firm.
This six-month milestone figure represents strong progress for the firm's partnership expansion programme, announced towards the end of 2025, which committed to adding 160 new partners by the end of 2027. All Grant Thornton partners join on an equity basis unless they choose a salaried route.
The pace of hiring reflects both the scale of Grant Thornton's growth ambitions and the breadth of demand from clients working through increasingly complex regulatory, financial and operational challenges. Appointments span across the wide range of Grant Thornton’s service offers, reinforcing leadership in areas where client need is sharpest.
Malcolm Gomersall, Chief Executive Officer of Grant Thornton UK, said:
"We are very pleased with the strong progress we’re making in expanding our partnership – but what matters more than the numbers is who we're hiring and the specialist knowledge that they bring to meet the increasingly complex and changing needs of the organisations we advise.
"We are consistently attracting talented, senior experts who have spent careers at the top of these disciplines from the biggest firms in our market. This reflects the scale of our ambition now and a desire to be part of something different.”
The most recent cohort of five partners, all appointed in June, illustrates the calibre of talent the firm is attracting.
Danny Chamings, Financial Services Technology Risk Partner, Advisory (London)
Danny brings more than 20 years’ experience advising financial services organisations on technology risk, regulatory compliance and large-scale remediation programmes. He joins from PwC, citing the firm’s growth ambitions and the evolution in financial services technology regulation as key factors in his decision.
Fiona Cooper, Partner, Real Estate Tax (London)
Fiona is a tax and finance professional with more than 30 years’ experience advising private equity and real estate investors on complex transactions, fund structuring and cross-border investments. A Fellow of the ICAEW and prize winner in her professional examinations, she has held senior leadership roles as European Tax Director at Starwood Capital Group and Global Tax Director at Apax Partners.
Johnny Leiper, Partner, CFO Solutions (Edinburgh)
Johnny joins from Deloitte, where he spent more than 20 years – including leadership roles in both the UK and Australia – helping finance functions streamline and automate core accounting and finance processes. He specialises in the intersection of people, process and technology, with a focus on implementing finance technology solutions that deliver measurable business value.
Michael Woodbridge, Partner, Advisory (London)
Michael brings more than 20 years’ experience in cyber security, with expertise spanning security strategy, incident response, mergers and acquisitions, and the delivery of complex end-to-end security architectures for critical national infrastructure. He has worked across a range of sectors, most recently in energy and utilities and consumer products.
Jonathan Charles, Partner, Financial Services Advisory (Bristol)
Jonathan is a chartered accountant with 20 years’ experience in the professional and financial services sector, with a particular focus on regulatory matters in the asset and wealth management sector. He has been promoted to partner and will continue to develop Grant Thornton’s asset and wealth management advisory capability.
Grant Thornton UK’s partnership expansion programme was announced in late 2025, with the firm committing to 160 new appointments over two years. This forms part of a wider growth strategy supported by the firm’s Cinven partnership, which has made Grant Thornton the largest UK professional services firm to secure external private equity investment.