Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Pensions Advisory team continues its strategic expansion with the appointment of Luke Hartley as a Partner and Dr Kelly Ward as a Manager.
Luke joins with a long track-record in employer covenant advisory work for both trustee and corporate clients, with his expertise covering transactions, restructuring and regulatory intervention/enforcement, in addition to the provision of ongoing covenant support for a wide range of schemes. Based in London, he will have a national role within the team.
Manchester-based Kelly is a Chartered Accountant with substantial pensions audit experience who joins the team following a highly successful secondment.
Grant Thornton’s Pension Advisory team is a leading mid-market covenant advisory practice with clients ranging from schemes sponsored by modest not-for-profit organisations to global corporations. The team’s work was recognised at the 2021 Professional Pension Awards, winning the Sponsor Covenant / IRM Provider of the Year category, and was also awarded Sponsor Covenant Provider of the Year at the 2022 Pension Age Awards.
Paul Brice, Head of Pensions Advisory at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Luke and Kelly to our team. Their appointments demonstrate our dedication to ambitious – but incremental – growth in our market. We are deeply committed to our strategic objective of being the “go-to mid-market employer covenant and IRM adviser.” As a multi-partner, multi-location team with a full range of strategic and financial advisory skillsets and experience – and the ability to draw upon the expertise of specialists across Grant Thornton – we have the scale and capability to advise on situations ranging from modest covenant assessments to the most complex multi-creditor restructurings and strategic transactions.”
Neil Knights, Head of Pensions at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said:
“These appointments are a further step in cementing Grant Thornton’s position and reputation as a market-leading provider of professional services across the pensions industry. Our audit, tax, employer covenant, actuarial, valuations and economic consulting practices combine to offer a formidable offering to trustee and corporate clients alike.”
