The Financial Intermediary & Broker Association (Fiba) has partnered with Grant Thornton’s financial services deals team.

The partnership means Fiba, part of SimplyBiz, members will have access to Grant Thornton’s integrated, multidisciplinary Deals Team and its knowledge of the specialist finance sector, including current M&A (mergers and acquisitions) trends, deal structures, and valuations.

Fiba chair Martin Reynolds (pictured) says: “We are pleased to welcome Grant Thornton, and the calibre of assistance it is able to provide, to our lender panel and members looking for support across their services in this sector.

“We look forward to embarking on the journey of education regarding their professional observations and understanding of elements within our sector and achieving a deeper comprehension.”

Grant Thornton’s corporate finance head of financial services M&A Simon Blackburn says: “Whilst sector M&A activity has been subdued in recent years due to the impact of the likes of Covid-19, rising inflation and interest rates, appetite for M&A is returning as latent customer demand remains high, interest rates appear to have stabilised and market optimism has increased.

“We look forward to sharing our sector and M&A insights with the FIBA membership and having the opportunity to demonstrate our support to the sector.’’