Bishop Fleming, the 500-strong accountancy firm with 47 partners and a network of offices across the South West, has secured private equity investment for a national expansion drive through M&A.
The firm said it has selected to partner with Synova – the innovative growth and private equity investor, which currently manages more than £1.7bn of capital in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe across markets, including financial services.
It said the investment will enable the firm to accelerate its planned growth strategy to become one of the leading national firms in the UK.
Bishop Fleming’s managing partner Andrew Sandiford said: “We launched our Better Growth business strategy two and half years ago, designed to double the size of our business through sustainable organic growth. Our performance during that time has been unrivalled in the mid-market space, such that we are now extending that Better Growth vision to grow beyond £200m and over 2,000 people.
“This investment is the next logical step to develop Bishop Fleming on the national stage through strategic planned M&A activity.”
Over the last 12 months, the firm has undergone significant transformational change, becoming only the second accountancy firm to implement the full Workday ERP platform – a significant investment designed to unlock its full potential and provide the foundation to scale up its business.
The firm’s impressive performance over recent years has enabled such investment with fee growth of 15% to over £48m in 2025, after several successive years of double-digit growth, including 20% year-on-year growth in its audit service line alone.
Sandiford added: “We are delighted to select Synova as an investment partner to our business. We believe they deliver the best of both worlds. Uniquely enabling us to remain majority partner-owned and led, maintaining control of our business through a traditional partnership business model, but with the exciting backing of a minority investment that perfectly aligns and accelerates our business growth plans.”
Oli Bevan, partner at Synova, added: “Bishop Fleming has delivered impressive performance over recent years and has an exciting vision for its business. It has a solid heritage and foundation for growth and now has a platform to scale up its business. Synova are delighted to partner with the Bishop Fleming team on this exciting new chapter in their growth journey.”
Earlier this year, the firm expanded its Bristol office, taking an adjacent floor in 10 Temple Back – making it the largest regional firm in the city. And in April the firm relocated its Exeter office to new premises in Winslade Park.
Bishop Fleming was guided through the transaction by Alantra, with transactional advisory, due diligence and legal from PwC, Strategy&, and Addleshaw Goddard.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval.
