Private equity-backed Nuvo Group has acquired Loughborough-based Charnwood Accountants and Business Advisors, extending its East Midlands presence and taking the accountancy and business services group to more than 600 employees. The transaction continues Nuvo’s programme of acquiring established regional practices. Its financial terms have not been disclosed.
Charnwood was founded in 2004 and is led by partners Chris Hutton, Steve Lathwood, and Anna Brocklehurst. It serves businesses across Leicestershire, the wider East Midlands, and elsewhere in the UK, providing accountancy and tax compliance alongside planning, restructuring, and succession advice.
The practice’s specialist work includes capital allowances, research and development tax relief, inheritance tax, and estate planning. It also carries out Solicitors Regulation Authority accounts rules audits for law firms, bringing a defined legal-sector specialism into Nuvo’s wider service portfolio.
Charnwood will continue trading under its own name as part of Nuvo Group, retaining its existing team and Loughborough office. That arrangement allows the business to preserve the local client relationships associated with the practice while drawing on services available across the acquiring group.
Nuvo is backed by Northcote Equity and operates across accountancy, advisory, audit, payroll, human resources, recruitment, and legal services. Its model combines local offices and specialist practices within a national business services operation. The acquired firms can access additional expertise without necessarily changing their client-facing brands immediately.
Steve Sharp, Nuvo’s founder and chief executive, has identified the acquired practice’s client base, services, and culture as reasons for the deal. Charnwood partner Hutton said that preserving client relationships and the firm’s personal approach were important considerations during the sale process.
Accountancy relationships often extend over many financial years. Advisers may be responsible for statutory accounts, tax filings, succession plans, and decisions affecting a business’s ownership or funding. A change in the practice’s ownership can therefore be operationally sensitive even where the people carrying out the work remain unchanged.
The wider Nuvo group gives Charnwood scope to refer clients for services not previously available within its own practice. The acquisition also adds specialist personnel and a regional office to the group’s existing capacity. It builds on earlier transactions that have increased Nuvo’s workforce and revenue across the UK.
The company has previously reported growth in revenue from approximately £16m to £43m and expansion from 170 to more than 500 employees. Those historical figures describe the business before the latest headcount was reported and should not be mistaken for a new financial result from the Charnwood transaction.
Bishopsgate Corporate Finance advised Charnwood’s partners, while Nuvo Legal acted for Nuvo Group. The practice’s trading name, team, and office remain in place following completion, with its specialist accountancy and advisory work now part of a business employing more than 600 people.
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