Claire Spencer joins PKF Smith Cooper as partner

PKF Smith Cooper has strengthened its corporate finance team with a new partner in the East Midlands. Claire Spencer brings 25 years of mid-market M&A experience to the role.

Spencer commented, “I am thrilled to be embarking on this next step in my career at PKF Smith Cooper. The firm has a strong market presence, international capabilities, and can offer my clients a wider range of services such as integrated M&A, wealth management and tax planning.  I am looking forward to helping shape and action the firm’s ambitious growth strategy over the coming years and continuing to invest in growing the team in the East Midlands.”

As UK Midlands member of the global PKF International network, PKF Smith Cooper is a mid-tier firm with a global clout. The network was listed in Consultancy.uk’s 2023 Top Consulting Firms ranking – including platinum ratings in SME and family business services.

As a result, PKF Smith Cooper completed over 100 deals worth a combined £2 billion last year, and is among the five most active dealmaking team in the Midlands. As it looks to continue to grow its advisory and transaction service offerings, Spencer will bring notable experience to the firm, having overseen deals spanning a number of sectors, including business services, industrial, food, consumer and technology. 

Before joining PKF, Spencer was a co-founding partner for LAVA Advisory Partners, an independent corporate finance boutique based in London. Prior to that, she also spent 14 years at global professional services firm Grant Thornton, working latterly as a director helping owners and businesses achieve their M&A objectives.

Spencer’s most recent deals notably include advising private equity investor RJD Partners on their exit from Midlands-based engineering, surveying and monitoring services provider Survey Solutions, as well as assisting in the sale of school transport provider Kura to global transit-tech company Zeelo.

Darren Hodson, head of corporate finance at PKF Smith Cooper, added, “We are delighted to be welcoming Claire to our growing corporate finance team. With her wide-ranging experience, strong regional knowledge and sector specialisms, she will have a fundamental role in strengthening PKF Corporate Finance’s presence in both the Midlands and the UK, in addition to increasing team capacity in the face of a robust pipeline for 2024.”