Consultancy.uk

LOGOS: Squarcle + Phoenix Equity Partners. UK supply chain consultancy Squarcle has taken on new investment from Phoenix Equity Partners. The move will back Squarcle as it looks to expand across Europe, amid a time of rising demand for procurement advisory services. Geopolitical turmoil has been the running theme of 2026 – if it wasn’t already in the years before.

First Actuarial’s latest modelling and analysis of DB pension transfer redress show that redress payments are set to fall to their lowest ever level in 2026. Further shifts may come as the UK’s ombudsman for financial services weighs up more reforms in the processing of redresses. A pension transfer redress payment is financial compensation paid to individuals who received unsuitable advice to transfer out of a defined benefit (or ‘final salary’) pension scheme.

Ask most SaaS CEOs where they expect to find the next improvement in EBITDA and you’ll usually hear familiar answers: reduce cloud costs, streamline engineering, automate support or improve customer retention. But according to Phil Machin of BridgePoint Procurement, rarely does anyone point to the sales cycle – and for many enterprise software businesses, that has quietly become one of the largest drags on profitability. It’s easy to see why.

Professional services firm Crowe has appointed Adam Rollason as a partner. He joins its national tax team, enhancing the firm’s corporate tax advisory capabilities. Rollason said, “I am delighted to be joining Crowe at what is an incredibly exciting time for the firm.

PHOTO: Attached. Acquiring a company is often tough enough – but the integration two distinct organisations comes with a new set of barriers which can delay returns on investment. Kin&Co’s co-owner and director, Emma Woodhead White, explains why cultural friction can undermine M&A performance. Why is culture important in M&A? Culture is one of the most overlooked parts of M&A because the deal process is so consuming.

Grant Thornton has looked to make the most of its recent private equity backing, by investing in Fairgrove Partners. The acquisition of the consultancy will boost the firm’s deals advisory business, as it looks to expand its share of mid-market clients across the UK. Founded in 2013, Fairgrove Partners is a strategic advisory firm, serving corporations, private equity funds and their portfolio companies, and the family offices of high-net-worth individuals.

PHOTO: Attached. After weeks of speculation, Andy Burnham has secured leadership of the Labour Party, and is set to assume the office of Prime Minister. Ahead of the change in management at 10 Downing Street, Praveen Gupta – UK head of tax at professional services firm Azets – argues changes and clarity in the tax system are now needed to create and keep the next generation of Bransons, Dysons and Bartletts in Britain.

Global advisory firm SLR Consulting has strengthened its built environment team with a series of strategic senior appointments. Shelley Dix joins to lead the firm’s London transport planning team, while Chris Ellis will head up the firm’s environmental impact assessment efforts for London. SLR is an environmental and advisory consultancy, with a team of more than 5,000 professionals operating from a network of offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

A new study of corporate leaders has found that 42% regard the costs of operating AI as ‘largely invisible’. As many encounter rising prices from the technology they seemingly expected to be cheap forever – even when AI companies had a monopoly – half have scaled back or paused further role out of AI initiatives. Talk of innovative potential seldom translates to anything more than PR for UK businesses.

Public Digital recently announced the appointment of Sarah Clark as a non-executive director. She sits with Consultancy.uk to discuss Public Digital’s future plans. You’ve worked across global corporations, scale-ups, venture-backed businesses and now several boards. Looking back across your career, what experiences have most shaped your perspective on leadership? There have been a few experiences that have particularly shaped my views on leadership.