One of the Big-Four accounting organizations, KPMG, is all set to foray in venture capital fundraising & advisory business through its reportedly new joint venture (JV) company - KPMG Acceleris, which the company will form by acquiring 50% stake in Acceleris Capital, a UK-based venture capital advisory specialist, reported Sky News and other UK-based news outlets.
The move from KPMG into the venture capital fundraising space comes amid far-reaching changes to the structure of the big four auditors in Britain.
KPMG Acceleris, the formation of which is subjected to to Financial Conduct Authority approvals, will offer fundraising and advisory services in the UK and elsewhere, and will focus on fast-growing companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, as well as on entrepreneurs involved in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) sphere.
Post this new venture formation, Jonathan Boyers, a KPMG UK partner and head of its corporate finance division, and Warren Middleton, senior partner of KPMG’s Manchester office, will join the board of the yet-to-launch KPMG Acceleris and will be led by Acceleris founder Norman Molyneux, Simon Thorn and Patrick Molyneux.
KPMG Acceleris will initially operate from Manchester and London.
In a media statement, Jon Holt, KPMG UK chief executive, said -
This joint venture also marks a significant milestone for our firm and is the first in a series of innovative investments we’re making to transform our business and develop new services to help our clients grow.
Notably, in last couple of years accounting firm KPMG was seen more inclined towards technology space, especially Artificial Intelligence. To recall, in September last year, KPMG in India released its talent lifecycle management platform, the AI platform, which was developed in collaboration with Ahmedabad-based dotin Inc. This AI platform provides visibility into the various stages of sourcing, screening, engaging and upskilling talent.
Prior to that in March 2020, KPMG, along with ANAROCK, partnered with HiringPlug, an AI-enabled curated marketplace of recruiters and employers, to fast track hiring and helped cut down the time to hire to 14 days from about two months.
About Acceleris, it is a capital raising advisor, angel investment syndicate and venture services agency, founded by Norman Molyneux in 2000. The company arrange new capital for SME's and have direct investment in several technology based companies.
Acceleris serve funding, investment and advisory needs from our office in central Manchester. Acceleris says that its USP is taking companies from startup through to exit, not only adding comfort to our introduced investors, but also providing ongoing mentoring and support at the most crucial time of an SMEs lifecycle.
Acceleris has introduced more than £150m to innovative impact technologies across health & wellbeing, software and renewable technologies.