S&W has agreed to acquire Shepherd Private Clients, a Cheadle-based private client tax firm. The deal stage is agreed; the sources do not state that it has completed. No purchase price is disclosed in the sources.
According to the source, the acquisition will bring 15 colleagues into S&W, strengthening its Manchester tax capability following its move to larger offices in May 2026. The source describes the agreement as a regional growth story and highlights the recruitment angle, specifically the specialist team coming with the transaction.
The source draws a distinction between adding headcount and adding an established team, noting that technical expertise matters but so does how people work together and maintain continuity for clients. It also contrasts an acquisition with an individual hire as different routes to growth, and says both benefit from being precise about what a team needs to do better rather than simply how much bigger it needs to become.
No further details of the transaction, including its timing or completion, are given in the source.