Shaw & Co, the specialist corporate finance advisory firm, has appointed Rob Starr as its new Head of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A).

Rob joins the company from UHY Hacker Young, one of the UK’s Top 20 accountancy networks, where he was Corporate Finance Director overseeing acquisitions, sales, business funding and restructurings across a wide range of industries.

With over 20 years’ experience in financial services, Rob has led and supported over 200 transactions with deal sizes of up to £200m across various sectors, as well as implementing successful growth strategies for FTSE 100, Mid-Cap, Aim, SMEs and early stage businesses.

In his new role he will be responsible for leading and developing Shaw & Co’s M&A division which offers expert advice on all aspects of buying and selling a business including management buy-outs, management buy-ins, mergers, exit strategies and business valuations. The division has worked on a number of notable deals including the sale of Pukka Herbs to Unilever, the purchase of VoucherCloud from Vodafone and its subsequent sale to Groupon, and the sale of GoProposal to Sage.

The appointment, part of Shaw’s and Co’s wider five-year development strategy, will also enable Jim Shaw, the company’s founder, to take on the role and responsibilities of a full-time CEO. This will include overseeing the expansion of the company’s presence from its Bristol headquarters across four further strategic locations - Birmingham, London, Manchester and Glasgow - as well as developing its service offering.

Prior to joining UHY Hacker Young, Rob ran his own corporate finance and business strategy consultancy, and has also had spells with GKN, the Global Engineering Company, Care UK and PwC where he worked in the company’s London and Moscow offices.

He holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Design and Manufacture from the University of Hull and an MBA from Warwick University.

Jim Shaw, Founder and CEO of Shaw & Co, said: “This is a highly significant appointment for Shaw & Co that will play an integral role in our evolution from being a niche regional player into a nationally disruptive operator. We have previously been one of the ‘best kept secrets’ in the corporate finance sector and Rob’s appointment, supported by our new brand and website, will take us to the next level, enabling us to help even more business owners to achieve their ambitions and realise their business’s maximum value.”

Rob Starr, Head of M&A, Shaw & Co, said: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with a renowned team of experts and a highly innovative range of clients and brands. I am looking forward to helping to transform the quality of corporate advisory services being offered to those looking to buy, sell or fund the growth of their business.”

‍