The fee delta between Big Four and Tier-2 on a sub-£50m EV deal is typically 1.5x to 2.5x at comparable scope. The judgement is whether the buyer's IC, lender or LP will discount the deliverable if it does not carry a Big Four badge.
The honest take
Big Four scope is genuinely worth the premium on three profiles: multi-jurisdiction tax structuring across more than three tax-residence countries, FCA-authorised or regulated targets where supervisory-correspondence interpretation is on the critical path, and carve-out FDD where stand-alone-cost modelling demands operational-DD bench. Outside those, Tier-2 delivers an equivalent investigator file for materially less money.
Side by side
Deloitte UK
Big Four
Big Four house with full Strategy and Transactions team. Anchors on £50m+ EV deals, regulated targets, cross-border and carve-out complexity.
Sectors: Financial services, TMT, Energy, Healthcare, Infrastructure
Pricing: Quote-only. Big Four FDD on sub-£50m EV deals routinely scopes £60-150k+. Premium typically justified by multi-jurisdiction tax or regulated-target experience.
Adviser profile ->Grant Thornton UK
Tier-2
Mid-market FDD, tax DD and QoE house. Strong sub-£100m EV sweet spot with sector benches in technology, financial services and consumer.
Sectors: Technology, Financial services, Consumer, Healthcare
Pricing: Quote-only. Sub-£20m EV FDD engagements anchored £20-60k by ICAEW market practice; not published by the firm.
Adviser profile ->This page is anchored to UK primary legislation and named regulator guidance only. Not legal advice. Confirm position with your appointed adviser before signing.