Two members of the HURST Corporate Finance team who joined the practice as graduates have been promoted to manager level.
Isabelle Bennett joined HURST in 2016 and has been part of its corporate finance team since 2021.
She advises on a range of projects, including business valuations, exit strategies and acquisitions.
Over the years, she has played a key role in a string of major transactions, including artisan speciality food group Panicium’s acquisition of The Bury Black Pudding Company and the sale of Stockport-based Red Rose Packaging to Logson Group, the UK’s largest independent supplier of corrugated packaging.
Isabelle is currently managing multiple complex company sales on behalf of a diverse range of clients.
Matthew Taylor joined HURST for a six-week work placement after university in 2021 and immediately earned a place on its graduate trainee programme.
He has led a number of significant projects at HURST Corporate Finance across sectors including energy, legal and property, and is currently working on numerous high-value transactions across various sectors, including acquisitions, buy-and-build strategies and company disposals.
The corporate finance team of M&A experts, supported by over 100 HURST colleagues in the accounting and business advisory firm’s business services, tax and digital teams, focuses on advising owner-managed companies and entrepreneurs on acquisitions, sales, debt funding and private equity investments with transaction values of between £5m and £30m.
Nigel Barratt, head of HURST Corporate Finance, said: “Promotion for Isabelle and Matthew is well-deserved, given their hard work and commitment to developing their corporate finance skills, and they always get great client feedback.
“They will undoubtedly help us to carry on building an increasingly successful corporate finance business and I look forward to continuing to work with them over the coming years.”
The wider HURST practice specialises in advising three core client segments – owner-managed businesses, private equity-backed enterprises and UK subsidiaries of overseas parent companies.
Clients include S.J.M Concerts, Kinaxia Logistics, M&I Materials, Beechfield Brands, Duerr’s, Oliver Valves, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Krones UK, Creamline Dairies, Scapa Group and Hyde Group. Significant recent client wins include Metalor Technologies, beauty brand REFY, the Rugby Football League and Green Part Specialists.
Earlier this year, HURST unveiled plans to double in size amid rapid expansion across the practice. It aims to become a £20m-turnover practice in 2028, fuelled by a growing national client base, extensive recruitment and new service lines to support its ambitions, alongside a multimillion-pound investment in technology.
HURST has earned recognition from Great Place to Work as one of the UK’s best workplaces in consulting and professional services, reaffirming the firm’s commitment to fostering a positive culture.
