London, United Kingdom – Addleshaw Goddard has advised Cooper Parry, the fast growing and disruptive firm of accountants and business advisers, on the majority investment from funds managed by Lee Equity Partners, LLC.

Following two years of transformational growth, Lee Equity will succeed Waterland Private Equity as CP’s capital partner. Waterland has supported the business in its ambition to become a leading accountancy firm in the UK market by helping Cooper Parry broaden its capabilities and expand its presence across the country.

As one of the UK’s mid-market heavyweights, Cooper Parry serves the fastest growing market segment with an iconic, rebellious and powerful brand. It offers tech-enabled specialist services - delivered at scale - from five superhub locations across the UK (East Midlands, Birmingham, London, Thames Valley and Manchester).

The firm has successfully completed and integrated 11 transactions in two years, including the acquisition of Haines Watts London and its associated audit and advisory businesses across the South-East, Thames Valley and the Midlands, UHY Manchester, London-based Cloud Orca, the fast-growing Salesforce consultancy and MacroFin, the award-winning NetSuite Alliance Partner.

This M&A activity, coupled with a highly differentiated client experience and strong business development, has fuelled market-leading growth. Turnover has grown 4X over the last two years to £180m with sustainable organic growth exceeding 24% annually over the prior 3 years.

The Addleshaw Goddard team advised Waterland on their investment in Cooper Parry and have subsequently advised on the majority of their acquisitions.

Paul Medlicott, Private Equity Partner at Addleshaw Goddard said: "We are delighted to have supported our clients Cooper Parry, their management team and Waterland Private Equity on what is a truly landmark deal in the highly attractive and competitive accountancy services sector. The sector has been a hotbed for private equity investment in the past three years. The “the rebels of accountancy” that are the Cooper Parry team have done an amazing job in developing and growing their business with a determination to “Disrupt, Lead and Make Life Count”. Addleshaw Goddard's market leading Private Equity and Professional Practice Group have been involved in a huge number of transactions in the accountancy services and professional practices space as the sectors continue to attract a huge amount of interest from Private Equity investors and this deal follows hot on the heels of a number of other high profile transactions in the accountancy services sector."

The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by Paul Medlicott, Katie Parker, Dan Conway, Ethan Turner and Sylwia Karkusiewicz supported by Joel Power, Millie Johnson, Mel Chaplow, Nikita Bokil, Catherine Concannon, Jon Cheney, Ben Sanderson and a wider team of over 50 other lawyers.

Ade Cheatham, CEO at Cooper Parry said: "This investment marks a monumental milestone in the CP journey, representing one of the largest deals of its kind in the global accountancy market. Following an incredible period of sustainable growth, partnering with Lee Equity Partners is the next level game-changer. Having got to know the Addleshaw Goddard team at the time of Waterland's investment, it’s been great to have them on our side of the table for this deal."