Quantuma celebrates Manchester growth as it merges with Bell Advisory

Quantuma has announced it has acquired Manchester-based specialist insolvency and advisory firm Bell Advisory Ltd today, following a period of significant growth in Manchester.

Bell Advisory has two team members, Gary Bell (founder) and Paul Llewellyn, both of whom will join the business advisory firm as restructuring and insolvency director and manager respectively. Bell Advisory will operate under the Quantuma brand.

Gary and Paul have combined experience of over 50 years, specialising in corporate matters ranging from advisory work to formal insolvency procedures, as well as solvent restructuring processes.

The pair will continue to be based in their current central Manchester offices, whilst Quantuma’s Manchester office lead Rob Parry seeks larger premises to bring both teams together under one roof. The move will accommodate the continued growth the firm has experienced in the North West in the last 12 months and further growth for the next two years.

Since opening its first location at No1 Spinningfields in March 2019, the firm’s Manchester office has grown its headcount to 14 in the region, making it the firm’s sixth largest office.

Quantuma has also grown its offering in the North West since it opened last year, with a focus on forensic accounting, restructuring advisory, debt advisory and investigations. The firm is now also offering pre-insolvency advisory and formal appointment taking.

Rob parry, office lead for Quantuma Manchester said:

“We continue to grow rapidly in the North West and when the opportunity occurs to merge with a quality practice with experienced advisers like Gary, then it makes sense to talk.

“Growing the range of services we offer in the region has been on our agenda for some time, and we have been extremely impressed by the quality of work delivered by Gary and his team.

“In our first year we have had over 90 instructions into the Manchester office, generated through the relationships the team has with the local professional community. The types of instructions have included restructuring advisory assignments on behalf of the stakeholders of a number of businesses operating in the mid-market. Our forensic accounting team has also had a strong start, undertaking a range of expert witness and expert determination instructions in commercial disputes, including post transaction and business interruption matters. And we’ve also undertaken a number of domestic and global investigation assignments which have predominantly involved tracing assets.

Gary Bell, restructuring and insolvency director at Quantuma, said:

“It is an excellent time to join Quantuma’s team in Manchester. I have closely followed the growth that the firm has experienced both nationally, and here in Manchester, for some time and have been very impressed. It is business as usual for my team and I, with the added benefit of being able to offer a wider range of advisory services to my introducers, including forensic accounting.”

Founded in 2013 by Carl Jackson, Quantuma has grown to become a £25m practice employing 250 staff. Headquartered in London, the company has a strong presence in the South of England, with locations in Southampton, Marlow, Watford, Brighton, Scotland and Bristol.

This follows significant geographical expansion in the last 18 months for Quantuma. In April 2019, the firm merged with Kingsland Business Recovery, which saw it take over offices in Bradford, Birmingham and Nottingham. Quantuma also expanded internationally with new offices in Cyprus and Mauritius, while recently merging with WRI Associates in Glasgow to mark its first presence in Scotland office.