BDO replaces Grant Thornton as leading AIM auditors
BDO makes net gain of 24 AIM clients since October last year, following its merger with PKF
BDO HAS OVERTAKEN Grant Thornton as the leading auditors of AIM-listed companies in terms of overall client numbers, according to the latest research from Adviser Rankings.
The mid-tier firm made a net gain of 24 clients since October last year, largely the result of April’s merger with PKF after months of protracted negotiations. The tie-up brought the combined entity’s total clients to 156, while Grant Thornton’s client base slipped to 146 from 165.
BDO’s aggregate market cap expanded by 18.5% to £6.14bn on the back of the merger, while PwC moved into top slot with a market cap of £13.35bn, proving it now has the largest AIM clients.
BDO’s biggest rise came within the basic materials sector, where it gained 15 clients pushing Deloitte into second place, though the aggregate market cap of Deloitte’s clients is larger. The merger also increased BDO’s catchment within the consumer services sector, where both Jeffreys Henry and Hazlewoods have established a presence with two clients each.
A trio of clients means that Jeffreys Henry is also now featured within the financials sector, where UHY Hacker Young has moved up three places to eighth and Welbeck moves up two places to ninth.
PKF Littlejohn moved up two places to 12th in the overall rankings following the formal launch of the company in July. Three months earlier it had been announced that London-based Littlejohn would replace PKF as the global network’s UK member following the BDO/PKF merger.
Among other AIM auditors, Welbeck Associates have all but doubled their client list to 13 since data was last published in October, while Jeffreys Henry moved up a place to 11th after gaining two new clients. Haysmacintyre and Shipleys are two new entrants to the rankings, with seven and six clients respectively.