Fri, 05 Dec 2025 | BUSINESS SALE
Accountancy and business advisory Shaw Gibbs Group has expanded its presence in Hampshire with the acquisition of a people management and learning and development consultancy based in Basingstoke.
The acquisition of Reality HR is Shaw Gibbs’ 11th since 2023 and takes the group’s headcount to 645 working from 18 offices across Central and Southern England. The group now provides tax advisory and accountancy services to around 7,000 businesses.
Shaw Gibbs’ clients will benefit from Reality HR’s recruitment services and the firm’s established learning and development team. Post-acquisition, Reality HR’s team will continue to operate independently, with Chief Executive Sally-Ann Hall-Jones continuing to lead the firm, while its offering will expand nationwide.
Hall-Jones said that Reality HR had expanded “from a small boutique consultancy to one of the largest in the UK”, adding that the firm was “now at the next stage in our growth journey and Shaw Gibbs can provide support and scale to build on our success.”
Reality HR Chair Laura Davis said that joining Shaw Gibbs Group would provide the firm with “access to greater resources and more diverse projects and new career pathways.”
Shaw Gibbs Group Chief Executive Peter O’Connell commented: "It's important to us to find firms with a similar culture and client-base to collaborate with, as well as the drive to provide high quality advisory services.”
"The team at Reality HR share our commitment to excellence, client service, quality and building lasting relationships, making them a perfect fit. We can now offer our clients genuine specialist people support backed by a team with proven expertise and a strong reputation in the sector."
In the year to March 31 2024, Shaw Gibbs Limited reported turnover of £16.3 million, up from £8.2 million a year earlier, but saw operating profits drop from £1.5 million to around £210,000 and fell to a post-tax loss of approximately £528,000.
The Oxford-headquartered group has been backed by private equity firm Apiary Capital since November 2022, making several acquisitions with Apiary’s backing and seeing significant turnover growth.
It has recently been reported by Private Equity News that Apiary Capital has held discussions over a potential exit from Shaw Gibbs, amid strong ongoing M&A appetite in the accountancy sector and wider professional services market.
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