UK-headquartered accounting and advisory practice Shaw Gibbs has acquired Richmond-based White Hart Associates, a professional services firm specialising in the travel industry.
WhiteHart provides audit, accountancy, tax, corporate finance, and travel regulatory advisory services.
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Its travel-sector work covers ATOL, ABTA, ABTOT, and IATA requirements.
The firm also advises on financial and risk analysis, consumer protection arrangements, and regulatory issues related to changes of ownership.
The family-owned and managed business began working with its first travel client in 1979. It adopted the White Hart Associates name in 1996 after obtaining audit licences.
WhiteHart now supports more than 300 travel businesses.
Under the agreement, WhiteHart will retain its name and operate as WhiteHart, part of the Shaw Gibbs Group, and the existing team and client relationships will remain central to the business.
WhiteHart managing director Nikki Spoor said: “Finding the right long-term home for WhiteHart has been extremely important to us.
“We wanted a partner that understood the strength of our client relationships and our specialist position, particularly within the travel sector, while being able to provide the investment and wider expertise that will help us continue to develop.
“Joining Shaw Gibbs enables us to retain the personal service and specialist knowledge our clients value while giving them access to a much broader range of expertise across the Group. It also creates exciting new development opportunities for our people.”
Shaw Gibbs plans to retain and develop the WhiteHart team, while supporting its clients and future growth.
The deal expands Shaw Gibbs’ travel and leisure expertise, while WhiteHart clients will gain access to the wider group’s technical capabilities and specialist services.
Shaw Gibbs CEO Peter O’Connell said: “We want Shaw Gibbs to be the natural home for specialist practices that want to flourish.
“WhiteHart is exactly that kind of firm: real expertise, strong client relationships, and a culture – aligned with ours – built around high-quality, personal service.
“That depth of sector knowledge is exactly what Shaw Gibbs looks to protect and grow. The WhiteHart management team have built an exceptional position in the travel sector, and we are committed to investing in them as they take WhiteHart forward.
“I’m delighted to welcome Nikki, Chris, Luke, Mark and the whole WhiteHart team to Shaw Gibbs.”
