UK accountancy firm buys Dublin-based MSD in foray into market
DHJ, which is backed by London private equity firm Tenzing, said that MSD will continue to be led by managing partner Richard Daly and head of assurance Brendan Murtagh. Swords-based MSD has 30 staff in total.
'The partnership also gives us the perfect platform to target more M&A activity in Ireland,' said DJH chief operating officer James Beardmore.
DHJ has already carried out 15 acquisitions in the United Kingdom since it was set up four years ago.
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The small- to mid-tier Irish accounting sector has seen a surge in deal making in the past three years as overseas firms, often backed by private equity money, seek to tap into the EU's fastest growing economy and the European base for a host of global tech and pharmaceutical groups.
The attraction of private equity to the sector lies in the fact that much of accounting revenue is recurring, which makes it easier for private equity firms to fund borrowings in takeover transactions.
For small domestic practices, the burdens of mounting regulation and compliance, technology costs and succession planning are also driving consolidation conversations in the sector.
ETL Global, the German-based accounting group, entered the Irish market in early 2023 by acquiring 51 per cent of the Noone Casey practice in Dublin and has followed up with other deals.
London-based Azets also purchased Baker Tilly Ireland the same year before rebranding the firm and securing other purchases.
Elsewhere, Dains, a UK accountancy group backed by investment firm Horizons, acquired McInerney Saunders Chartered Accountants in Dublin early last year and has given the Irish firm a mandate to find follow-on deals. Other UK firms Moore Kingston Smith and AAB are also among overseas players that have been actively acquiring Irish businesses in recent times.
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Belfast's Spirit AeroSystems losses hit €430m
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Irish Times
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READ MORE Adjusting the demand for housing downwards to meet this supply would help to stabilise the market. So what drives the demand for housing in Ireland? There are four essential variables driving the housing demand: the natural increase in the population; the average size of an Irish household; the amount of existing housing stock that is old and must be demolished every year; and immigration. Immigration is the only variable that the Government has any material control over. Reduce immigration and housing demand falls, easing the upward pressure on prices, given that we can't build more than around 35,000 houses a year. It is pretty straightforward. Other economic targets – such as expanding GDP, garnering more foreign investment, maintaining the health service by employing immigrants to keep the system afloat or increasing profitability in the economy – might suffer, but if the objective of stabilising house prices is paramount, everything else comes second. [ Ireland needs immigrants. But our economy can't accommodate an infinite number Opens in new window ] Let's look at the data in a bit more detail. An overlooked factor critical to assessing the amount of homes we need for the population is the size of Irish families. When I was a kid, most families on our street had between three and five children, which meant that one house contained possibly seven or more people. We now have 2.5 people on average per household – still the highest in the EU, but falling. Simply put, we need more houses to accommodate families because fewer of us are living in each home. Therefore, to get the amount of new houses we need for the population we must divide any population increases by 2.5. Now let's examine the natural increase which is annual births minus deaths. More babies, more future homes needed. This figure last year was 20,000 – around 55,000 births, versus 35,000 deaths. 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Irish Times
11 hours ago
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