European consulting firm Eight Advisory has landed an investment from Sienna Investment Managers, with the aim of maintaining its growth trajectory as an independent business. By 2027, Eight Advisory wants to be have broken through the milestone of 1,000 employees.
Founded in 2009 in France by a founding team of eight partners (hence the brand’s name), Eight Advisory has over the past years grown rapidly into a group with over 650 employees in six European countries: France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Eight Advisory specialises in four lines of business: transactions (focus on financial due diligence), restructuring & turnaround, management consulting, and finance transformation.
On the back of its strongest year ever (Eight Advisory booked stellar growth of 26% in 2021 to book revenues of €142 million), Eight Advisory’s partner team (76 as of today) has set bold ambitions for the coming years.
“We want to double in size within five years,” said Pascal Raidron, President of Eight Advisory, adding that the consulting firm wants to realise this goal as an independent business. At a time of major consolidation in the consulting industry, Eight Advisory has therefore fended off growing interest from larger consulting groups and turned to a likeminded financial sponsor.
Sienna Investment Managers, which has acquired a minority stake for an undisclosed sum, will allow Eight Advisory to “accelerate our international expansion by providing us with significant financial resources while maintaining our independence,” said Raidron.
Ian Gallienne, the Chairman of Sienna, stated: “We look forward to help Eight Advisory’s management team accelerate their ambitious growth plan.”
This plan hinges on a number of investments. For one, Eight Advisory will expand its leading position in financial advisory services in existing markets (France, Germany and the United Kingdom are currently the firm’s main markets). Meanwhile, Eight Advisory will enter new markets, as it recently did in the Netherlands.
The consultancy will also enter new segments within the landscape, with strategic consulting services earmarked as a key space. In this segment, Eight Advisory wants to build a team that can bring a financial advisory-focused alternative to the large strategy houses and corporate finance houses.
Philippe Renauld, the Chief Operating Officer of Sienna Investment Managers, looks ahead at the roadmap with confidence. “Since its founding, Eight Advisory has become a European reference in financial consulting. The robustness of the firm’s business model makes it possible to confidently envision its future and the internationalisation of its business.”
Other leading France-headquartered consultancies that are backed by private equity include Argon & Co (supply chain and operations consulting) and EFESO Consulting (operations consulting). Sia Partnersmeanwhile has funded its growth into a business of 2,400 consultants worldwide through its own capital.
Sourced from Consultancy.eu