The move followed Grant Thornton’s deal with private equity firm Cinven to secure external investment to accelerate the mid-tier firm’s growth plans.  

A fundamental part of the Cinven decision saw the firm’s 250 partners vote to set aside a substantial amount of equity to reward senior talent below partner grade.

This equity will be held in the employee benefit trust (EBT), which will provide a ringfenced pool of value that will be used to reward employees.