Philip Wright, like many others who have appeared in this
column, is an affable, ebullient, and enthusiastic character. He
also has a highly impressive list of M&A and privatization
deals to his credit. The difference is that he is an accountant
rather than an investment banker. Despite offers, he does not
appear to be about to cross the fence.
"Everybody who studied accountancy would have thought about
investment banking at one stage," admits Wright. "Accountancy is
often seen as a first step but, strangely perhaps, I've always
enjoyed it - it's like industrial psychology. I've also become used
to the idea of being an independent adviser. We don't have capital
market activities and we're independent of sources of finance and
institutional investors that we pump deals to."
Wright recalls that his firm's push into corporate finance,
"started off by accident, when we got into M&A through the...
