DJH ascent driven by vision and values

Backing of Tenzing private equity guiding Stoke firm at every step

Hello Rainmakers,

Amidst market volatility and macroeconomic pressures, private equity backed accountancy group DJH has experienced odds-defying success and rapid growth.

CEO Scott Heath spoke to Afroze Zaidi about the drive behind their numerous acquisitions, and what’s fuelling their ambition to become one of the UK’s top 20 firms.

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There’s nothing subtle about the trail of acquisitions that DJH has blazed - 16 in total since 2021, and counting - as it pushes unabashedly towards the goal of earning a spot in the UK’s top 30 accountancy and professional services companies.

In fact, when Rainmakers sat down for a chat with CEO Scott Heath, he said he believes DJH may already have achieved this goal with their latest acquisition of Haines Watts, operating across three offices in Liverpool, the Wirral, and Chester.

The acquisition has taken DJH’s annual revenue across 16 offices to £61.4m, while reinforcing the firm’s determination to offer local leadership through enhanced operational support.

“It’s an approach the market seems to appreciate and one that our clients have really started to make the most of,” says Heath, who is being backed on this quest by Tenzing private equity, which raised a debut fund of £200m in 2017, followed up by £400m raised entirely virtually in 2020 and specialises in backing high growth businesses with a “mission critical software” or “tech enabled service”.

Tenzing - named after the sherpa that guided Sir Edmund Hillary to the summit of Mount Everest in 1953 - backs Heath and DJH’s growth vision, as you’d expect, aiming to ascend to the ranks of the top 20 accountancy firms within the next four years. It plans to achieve this by expanding its service offerings, attracting a broader client base, and pursuing strategic acquisitions within its core regions, the North West and Midlands, and beyond.

But that’s not the surprising part. While Tenzing says it will strengthen DJH’s infrastructure, for Heath culture comes first, something the investor realises is a strong contributor to value-creation.

DJH is aiming to become an employer of choice that attracts and nurtures top talent, and has the aspiration to become a B Corp business, exemplifying high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

Heath is grateful of his backer’s support in this regard.

“We really love Tenzing’s passion and people-centred culture, the fact they honour their commitments and don’t move the goalposts. The Sherpa Programme is also a big differentiator that will bring a range of expertise to our team, creating more opportunities for our people to grow professionally,” he says.

“Our culture is encapsulated by three words…” he says, “great things together!”

He adds: “That simple phrase touches every aspect of the business, from creating a fantastic workplace environment and helping our clients achieve their goals, to the positive impact we have in the increasing number of communities we operate in.”

Heath also finds no incongruence in discussing DJH’s positive impact on communities and the ambition of achieving £100m in revenue.