S&W buys Manchester tax boutique Shepherd Private Clients

On 5 November 2026, the accountancy and advisory group S&W announced that it had agreed to acquire Shepherd Private Clients, a private client tax adviser based in Greater Manchester. The deal brings 15 people into S&W. Neither side disclosed a price, and no completion date has been published.

Most of what is known comes from S&W’s own announcement, which trade titles including International Accounting Bulletin, Consultancy.uk and eprivateclient reported on 5 and 6 November. None of them adds figures beyond the firm’s release.

The firm being bought

Andrew Shepherd founded Shepherd Private Clients in 2018. It advises high net worth individuals, families, entrepreneurs and their business interests, as well as trusts and charities, with clients in the North West, elsewhere in the UK and abroad. Rebecca Hunt is its executive director. Shepherd said S&W’s long record in private client work made it “the natural choice” for the business, and that joining would let the team develop its offering.

Inside S&W the team will sit in the private client tax services practice led by Chris Shepard. Donna Bulmer, S&W’s regional managing partner, tied the deal to the firm’s investment in Manchester: in May 2026 S&W moved to larger offices at Pall Mall on King Street, doubling its space in the city.

The buyer

S&W is the former professional services arm of Evelyn Partners. It relaunched as an independent firm in 2024, backed by funds advised by Apax Partners, with around 1,800 staff across the UK and Ireland. According to Consultancy.uk, it now has more than 2,300 staff, including 150 partners, in 19 towns and cities across the UK, Ireland and France. Private client tax has been part of that growth. In October eprivateclient reported that S&W had hired a private client partner from BDO, and the firm has added business tax and transactions partners over the autumn.

The deal fits that hiring pattern: a larger, investor-backed group adding a specialist owner-managed practice, with its founder and executive director joining the acquirer.

What it means for families and their offices

For a family that chose Shepherd Private Clients because it was a small, founder-led boutique, the adviser is about to become one team inside a 2,300-person group owned by private equity funds. That calls for a short review. Check whether the engagement letter will be reissued by S&W and on what fee terms. Ask who will hold the relationship day to day, and whether S&W’s wider client list raises any conflict with your other interests. Private equity owners invest with an eventual exit in mind, so the ownership of the adviser may change again.

Sources: International Accounting Bulletin (6 November 2026); Consultancy.uk (6 November 2026); eprivateclient (6 November 2026); Accountancy Today (5 November 2026).