BKL acquires music accountancy specialist Dales Evans

London-based chartered accountancy and business advisory firm BKL has acquired Dales Evans & Co, a specialist music industry accounting specialist operating from Baker Street in central London.

BKL announced the deal on 13 August 2026. It is the latest in a run of acquisitions the firm has made since taking private equity backing from CBPE in April 2023.

Dales Evans & Co. Limited was incorporated in December 1993 and has specialised in accounting and tax services for the music and entertainment sector since 1994. The firm acts for artists, managers, producers, actors, record labels, music publishers and touring musicians, and provides services spanning business management, worldwide taxation, royalties and tour accounting. Lester Dales, a director since the firm's founding, began his accountancy career in 1981 with Keith Evans & Co. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Lester Dales said: "Becoming part of BKL is a positive step for us and allows us to carry forward our focus on our client relationships while providing access to broader expertise and technology while creating new opportunities for our clients and people."

The deal is BKL's second acquisition of a music-focused practice. It follows the firm's March 2024 merger with Alan Heywood & Company, a North London firm established in 1986 that had been recognised as one of the top 25 music and entertainment accountants in the UK.

Tim Gazzard, a music, media, sport and entertainment partner at BKL, said: "Having strong, genuine relationships is what makes everything work in the music, media and entertainment sector, and Dales Evans brings these in abundance. Dales Evans' clients will continue to receive the same close, personal service they know, now backed by the breadth of resource and technical depth that BKL offers."

Lee Brook, chief executive of BKL, said: "Dales Evans bring with them an exceptional reputation and deep experience in a specialist sector that strengthens our capability to deliver high quality trusted advice to our clients. Bringing the team on board strengthens our position in music, media and entertainment as we continue to build a broad-based business advisory firm that combines deep technical expertise with the personal approach our clients value."

CBPE invested in BKL in early 2023. The firm acquired academies and schools specialist Landau Baker in May 2023 and commercial finance specialists CFPro in December 2023, before merging with Alan Heywood & Company in March 2024 and City firm Wilson Wright on 2 April 2024. In April 2026 it acquired RBS Chartered Accountants, a Canary Wharf practice founded in 1986 advising clients in construction, property, healthcare and professional services.

The Wilson Wright merger created a combined business of more than 400 staff and 39 partners with a turnover of £46m at the time. BKL now operates from North London, the City of London, Canary Wharf, Cardiff and Newcastle, having opened the Cardiff office in October 2025.

Since the CBPE investment, BKL has also recruited a number of former Big Four partners, including from Deloitte and PwC, as it builds out a broad-based advisory offering for owner-managed businesses, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals. Its existing entertainment client base includes multi-platinum recording artists, touring musicians requiring international tour accounting, independent record labels, music managers and booking agents.

The acquisition of Dales Evans reflects wider consolidation pressure across the mid-tier accountancy sector, where private equity-backed firms have been using external capital to accelerate growth through bolt-on acquisitions of specialist practices.

Also read: Accountancy M&A in 2026 - surge being driven by private equity and strategic moves

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