Ex-EY and PwC execs to launch Unity Advisory targeting Big Four clients

Two former executives from EY and PwC are reportedly launching a new UK-based accounting and advisory firm, Unity Advisory, according to the Financial Times. 

The new firm will be chaired by Steve Varley, who also chaired EY for nine years until 2020, while Marrisa Thomas will take on the role of chief executive. She worked for 31 years with PwC and was one of the most senior female executives at the firm until last year. 

The FT has learnt that the duo’s new venture has secured a $300m (£225.5m) backing from private equity firm Warburg Pincus, and is discreetly recruiting ahead of a planned launch by June of this year. 

The outlet said Thomas alluded that Unity will be recruiting employees with Big Four experience, including those who have left those firms for jobs in industry. 

The duo will also be targeting mid-size corporate clients with revenues in the £500m-£1.5bn range, particularly those backed by private equity. 

They are also pitching the new firm as an alternative to the Big Four that can offer tax and accounting services, technology consulting and mergers and acquisition advice to chief financial officers in the UK. It also aims to win over clients and partners from the Big Four. 

The news report also stated that Unity will not include an audit division, a move likely to avoid the intense regulatory oversight and complex compliance requirements that Big Four partners frequently criticise.

Varley told the FT: “CFOs are open to a new proposition. The Big Four are a classy bunch of service providers, but people are looking for a proposition that is super client-centric, has really low administrative cost, is AI-led rather than based on legacy infrastructure and, crucially, has no conflicts.”

Warburg Pincus has been contacted for comment.