Accounting, Tax and Bookkeeping Firms
Region: Australia and New Zealand
Enterprise Value: A$5m - A$30m
Opportunity Overview
Blue Harbour Capital is working with strategic investors and experienced professional services executives who are seeking to partner with an accounting, tax or bookkeeping firm on a management led or employee led buyout.
This opportunity is ideal for a founder or partner group who wants to exit or step back while enabling the existing partners, managers and key employees to become the majority owners under Blue Harbour’s employee led succession and post transaction coaching model.
Opportunity Snapshot
Sectors of interest
- Full service accounting and business advisory firms
- Compliance and tax advisory practices
- Cloud bookkeeping and outsourced finance function providers
- Specialist SMSF, audit or assurance practices operating alongside core accounting
- Niche sector-focused firms with strong long-term client relationships
Geography
- Australia or New Zealand
- Single office, multi-office or trans-Tasman operations
Scale and performance
- Enterprise value between A$5m and A$50m
- At least 3 years of stable or growing revenues
- Consistent profitability with clear visibility on cash flows
- Predominantly recurring or repeat client engagements (compliance and advisory)
Ownership and management
- Founder, partner-led or privately held firm
- Well-regarded leadership or partner group already running day to day operations
- Owner or partners interested in selling to the internal team rather than a traditional trade buyer or consolidator
We are seeking a firm that broadly fits the following.
Business fundamentals
- Clear positioning as a trusted provider of accounting, tax, bookkeeping or business advisory services
- Revenue mix that includes a strong base of recurring compliance work and growing advisory income
- Diversified client base by sector and size, with limited reliance on any single client
- Established brand and reputation for accuracy, responsiveness and practical advice
- Systems and processes that support:
- Quality control and compliance
- Workflow management and capacity planning
- Consistent client experience across offices and teams
Team and leadership
- Credible leadership group already handling client relationships, people management and operations
- Depth of talent below the founder or senior partners, including managers, client directors and specialist staff
- Appetite among key managers and partners to step into ownership and governance roles
- Openness to strengthening the leadership team where needed (for example, COO, CFO, practice manager or growth lead) with support from our investor and executive partners
Performance and growth
- 3 or more years of stable or growing revenue and EBITDA
- Sensible investment in technology, cloud platforms and process automation
- A pipeline of growth opportunities such as:
- Cross-selling advisory services to existing compliance clients
- Expansion into new industry niches or regions
- Adding virtual CFO, outsourced finance or specialist tax capability
- Strategic bolt-on acquisitions of smaller practices
Ideal Founder Profile
This opportunity is particularly suited to a founder or partner group who:
- Wants a planned, de-risked succession rather than a rushed sale to a consolidator
- Cares about their people, clients and culture and wants the firm to remain independent and values-led
- Sees the existing managers and partners as the natural next generation of owners, but knows they lack the personal capital to fund a buyout alone
- Is open to:
- Selling a controlling or full stake into a management and employee led structure
- A phased reduction in involvement, such as an advisory, consultant or chair role for a defined period if desired
Under this opportunity:
Strategic investors and industry executives with deep professional services and accounting experience will:
- Co-invest alongside the team in a supporting role
- Sit on the board or advisory board where appropriate
- Provide input on:
- Pricing, service mix and client segmentation
- Partner and manager performance frameworks
- Technology, automation and workflow optimisation
- M&A strategy for practice bolt-ons or tuck-ins
Blue Harbour Capital will:
- Structure and coordinate the buyout so that the management team and employees can become majority owners over time
- Arrange and align financing between lenders, investors and vendor terms so the transaction is funded in a sustainable way that does not overburden the firm
- Provide post-transaction coaching and a 100 day plan so the new owners have clarity, rhythm and support from day one, including:
- A defined operating cadence and governance framework
- KPI dashboards focused on profitability, utilisation, realisation and client retention
- Regular leadership and board reviews to keep the transition on track
We can also help identify and fill any critical gaps in the leadership or support team to ensure the next generation of owners is fully equipped.
Is This Opportunity a Fit for Your Firm?
You may be a strong fit for this opportunity if:
- You own or lead an accounting, tax or bookkeeping firm in Australia or New Zealand
- Your firm falls in the A$5m – A$50m enterprise value range
- Revenue has been stable or growing over the last 3 years
- You have a solid management or partner team in place that could lead the firm without you day to day
- You are open to a management or employee led buyout where your team becomes the majority owner, with investor support
- Your priorities include:
- Fair value and certainty for you as founder or partner
- Continuity for staff and clients
- Empowerment, retention and progression for your key people
If you are a partner or senior manager and believe your firm fits this profile, we also invite you to make contact confidentially.
Next Step
If this opportunity sounds relevant to your business, the next step is to complete our short, confidential online form. It should take only a few minutes and gives us enough information to understand whether the mandate is likely to be a good fit for you and your team.
We do not ask you to upload financial statements at this stage. The aim is to keep the process low friction while giving both sides enough context to decide whether a confidential conversation makes sense.
Once we receive your profile, we will contact you to schedule a confidential discussion about how a management or employee led buyout with Blue Harbour Capital and our investor partners could work in your situation.