Retail case study
Providing new perspectives on retail

How did we win the audit of 280-branch clothing retailer Austin Reed? Initially, by winning the financial and tax diligence mandate from Dawnay Day Principal Investments, when it took the company private last year in a £49m deal. “To put together a scope of work that hit the key issues, we relied heavily on our Retail team’s expertise,” says David Bevan, one of the team advising Dawnay Day Principal Investments. “The management team said we’d actually given them new perspectives on their business. They appreciated the way we did things a bit differently, especially our pragmatic and tailored approach and frank communication.

“When the focus turned to financial assistance, we were actually working for Austin Reed. The fact that we then won the audit showed how happy both parties were with our work: our relationship with the management of Austin Reed changed from being on the outside looking in to being an extension of their team.”