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Deloitte has allegedly begun talks with potential buyers of the firm’s restructuring unit after claims that the firm is experiencing a rise in activity due to the surge in coronavirus related insolvencies.
According to Sky News, Daniel Butters who leads the groups restructuring unit, has informed staff at the firm that he will soon enter into discussions with private equity bidders, after being given the go-ahead from senior leaders in the company to sell the department.
It is reported that private equity groups believe the financial profile of businesses providing restructuring services will be a lucrative venture in the coming years as the UK economy attempts to rebuild itself after Covid-19.
Just last month, the firm’s rivals KPMG was reported to be exploring the sale of its restructuring arm and in talks with potential buyers.
Since the start of the pandemic, Deloitte has been chosen to oversee CVA’s for high street chains including New Look and Pizza Express, after they fell into financial difficulty following the UKs first national lockdown.
It follows news that the FRC issued a financial penalty of £500K to Deloitte after the accountancy firm failed “to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence and to properly document work in significant areas of audit risk.”, the fine has since been discounted to £362,500 for admissions and early disposal.
A Deloitte spokesperson told Accountancy Today: “We acknowledge and regret that aspects of our audit work for this entity did not comply with the relevant standards.
“However as the FRC has recognised, these did not call into question the truth or fairness of the financial statements in question. Audit quality remains our priority and we continue to enhance our audit quality processes and to seek improvement across all of our work.”
