Accountancy Europe Says Private Equity-Backed Consolidation of European Accountancy and Audit Firms Continues at a Significant Pace

Accountancy Europe published an update dated July 2026 on private equity in European accountancy and audit firms, covering January 2025 to April 2026. It says the paper "provides a factual update on private equity activity in the European accountancy sector," based on "a deal-level database compiled by Accountancy Europe, drawing on publicly reported transactions." It says it "should be read alongside" Accountancy Europe's paper of June 2025. Its counts are of deals that were publicly reported. Parts of it follow, not the whole.

The Count

In 2025 the paper identified 385 transactions involving accountancy and audit firms across Europe, counting "direct investments and roll overs." It says that shows "private equity-backed consolidation continues at a significant pace," with "more than 30 transactions" announced each month on average. It found 43 such transactions in 2022, and 131 in the first four months of 2026.

"Of the 385 transactions identified, 139 involved audit firms," the paper says, 36% of all deals in 2025. Summing up its first paper, it says that "EU rules require audit firms to remain majority-owned and controlled by qualified statutory auditors."

Where the Deals Were

The United Kingdom remains the largest market for these transactions, the paper says. It recorded 92 transactions in 2025, which the paper says represented 24% of all identified deals, and a further 41 in the first four months of 2026, accounting for 32% of the total. Its share of overall activity "has decreased significantly compared to the 40% observed over the previous decade," the paper says, which "suggests that while the UK continues to lead the market, PE-backed consolidation is becoming less concentrated in a single jurisdiction." It calls the rise of Norway "the most notable development," with 78 transactions in 2025.

First Signs of a Maturing Market

In its outlook, the paper says the period "has seen the first signs of a maturing market: some of the platforms built during the initial wave of consolidation are now facing questions about exit and refinancing."

It says that "a number of the larger UK-based PE-backed accountancy consolidators" reached a stage where their owners "began to explore exit options or alternative ownership structures," and describes two. In one, a sale process "was paused after bids fell short of the level sought." In the other, a planned sale process was "delayed despite reported interest from multiple potential buyers." Both firms "continued their acquisition activity during the period," the paper says. "These developments illustrate a dynamic that is likely to become more common," it adds, as further platforms "approach the end of their initial holding periods."

Across the sixteen months it covers, the paper says, "there are no clear signs of a broad slowdown."

A count of deals shows how often firms change hands. It does not show what changes after a sale in how a firm's work is reviewed and signed, and that is what the clients of an audit firm rely on.

When an audit firm's owners change, what in its public reporting would show whether the review of its work changed too?