PricewaterhouseCoopers has pulled off a recruitment coup by poaching Ernst & Young’s UK head of tax, Paul Davies, to become a partner at the UK’s biggest accounting firm.

It is the second departure of a senior figure from E&Y in as many weeks. Last week Jock Lennox, the man who lost out to Mark Otty in the race to lead E &Y in 2005, announced he would take early retirement next year.

The Davies move will be viewed as a blow to E&Y, which is trailing Deloitte, KPMG and PwC in revenues. It is also integrating its 87 national firms into a single unit under a new management structure announced in April.

Davies said: ‘I have made this decision [to leave E&Y] because I want to work with the leading tax practice in the UK and globally. I believe the strength and depth of the PwC tax practice’s expertise is a real differentiator in serving clients consistently across the world.’

Ian Powell, PwC’s UK chairman, said: ‘This appointment is part of an ongoing programme to ensure we have the best people for the success of our business and clients.’