Mazars hires Grant Thornton team in Cape Town – circa 70 staff involved in this team move.

Global audit, tax and advisory firm Mazars announced today that 6 partners, two consultants and more than 60 staff members from Grant Thornton Cape Town will join Mazars effective 1 August 2012.

Mazars has more than 13,000 professionals in 69 countries, in addition to correspondents and joint ventures in a further 15 countries. As at 31 August 2011, Mazars’ Group turnover was €956.7 million. The move will increase Mazars’ staff nationally to more than 750 and result in a turnover in excess of R350 million.

The team joining Mazars is the original Grant Thornton team that merged with BDO Cape Town two years ago and practised under the Grant Thornton name. That merger has been unwound, and the original Grant Thornton practice will now merge with Mazars.

“We’re delighted to welcome such an exceptional group of professionals into the Mazars family, and are confident that our cultures, values and strategic visions will merge seamlessly,” says Hilton Saven, National Chairman of Mazars South Africa and Co-CEO of Mazars International. “Their business mirrors ours remarkably in many ways, and will strengthen our offering across the board.”

Saven says the merger has been enthusiastically welcomed at international level, and is seen as an important development in its strategy of combining both organic and external growth.

Neil Miller, Joint Managing Partner of Grant Thornton Cape Town, who will join Mazars as a Partner says that the partners and staff are excited at the prospect of working with the calibre of professionals that Mazars offers: “We are all firmly of the belief that it is in the interest of all stakeholders in our business and, most importantly the clients, that we work in a strategic direction that places people and values at its core to enable us to develop and grow our service offering.”

In addition to Miller, the partners joining Mazars are Danny Naidoo, Mike Teuchert, David Smith, Larry Auret and Melanie Odendaal. Retired partners David Wener and Deryck Woolley will also join as consultants. The new partners and staff will be integrated into Mazars’ Cape Town based office in Century City.