MHA, top 15 firm in the UK (#13) and member of Baker Tilly International, is apparently seriously considering an IPO and soon, maybe as soon as the end of this month. The Times reported earlier this week that such an offering, if it goes down the way partners want it to, would be a “windfall” for the firm’s handful of current and retired partners.
Dozens of current and retired partners at MHA are set to split £80 million [approximately $104 million USD] after the accounting firm confirmed plans to list on Aim, London’s junior stock market.
It wants to raise £125 million as part of its initial public offering (IPO). Assuming it can attract that sum, about £45 million will be used to fund its investment in new technology, specifically artificial intelligence.
The rest — about £80 million — will be split between 41 partners and 19 retired partners. MHA has not specified which partners are selling shares, although some of those cashing in are understood to be on the board.
£80,000,000 divided by 60 is about £1.3 million each, we assume the distribution won’t be so equal. According to a 6-month revenue update shared in December, MHA has 1,916 people across 23 offices with 147 partners, we’ll also assume 106 of them aren’t equity partners.
MHA says business is booming, having gone from £90 million in revenue in 2020 to £154 million in 2024.
“The feedback from potential investors has been positive over the last few weeks underlining that this is an exciting move for our firm and our people and we believe a welcome one for the London market,” said MHA to International Accounting Bulletin in a statement. “An IPO will allow MHA to make greater investments in our people, technology and further acquisitions and become an even more attractive proposition to potential new recruits at both a senior and entry level.”
They claim they got more than 10,000 applications for autumn 2025 new hire positions. They brought in a record 214 new trainees in 2024 (pictured below), up from 130 in 2023 (they called this “almost doubling,” making us question the aggressiveness of their rounding of numbers).
Any IPO would be subject to regulator approval. Audit cops at the Financial Reporting Council are already investigating MHA after the collapse of a former audit client so we’ll see how that goes. The FRC decided at a meeting in January to look into MHA’s work on failed construction company ISG but didn’t announce the investigation until March 18, right when the IPO news started hitting. Weapons grade pettiness, really.
Windfall of £80m for accounting partners as MHA plans float [The Times]
