Leading business advisory firm Grant Thornton UK LLP has strengthened its Corporate Finance Advisory team with the promotion of Nick Jones to Director.

Nick has worked at Grant Thornton for more than 10 years and his promotion reflects the continued growth of the firm’s South West and Wales Corporate Finance Advisory team.

Based in the firm’s Bristol office, Nick will lead on M&A transactions across the South West and Wales region with a particular focus on the healthcare and consumer sectors.

Major recent deals he has worked on include the sale of Devon-based paddleboard brand Red Paddle to Myers Business Trust, the sale of a minority stake in GTS Flexible Materials to Growth Capital Partners and the investment in Cream Care Group by Civitas Investment Management.

Nick said: “I’m delighted to be taking the next step in my corporate finance career, which feels like a huge achievement for me personally. I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve received from within Grant Thornton over the last 10 years to enable me to progress to this point.

“We’re one of the most active M&A advisers in the region and have a fantastic team and I’m really looking forward to continuing to build out our presence even further.

“I’ve spent my whole career based in the South West and I’m really passionate about supporting SMEs in the region to access the next stage of their growth. It has therefore been great to see such an increase in private equity interest and investment throughout the patch, and with UK and overseas trade acquirers also very active, it’s an exciting time.”

Trefor Griffith, Corporate Finance Partner and South West and Wales Corporate Finance team lead, said: “Nick is a much-valued colleague and this promotion is very well deserved. It recognises his success and development and is in line with our focus of continuing to build a market leading team across sectors and regions.

“As a business it is a priority of ours to invest in our people and develop talent from within, and I look forward to seeing Nick’s career continuing to flourish.”