Baker Tilly Luxembourg is not just changing its leadership. The firm, which employs 110 people, is joining a group of 1,500 staff, backed by an investment fund and designed to continue the consolidation of the accountancy and consultancy market in the Benelux.

The Luxembourg-based firm will join the platform established by Baker Tilly in the Netherlands and Belgium. Upon completion of the transaction, expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, the platform will comprise 25 offices. The financial terms and the precise structure of the Luxembourg transaction have not been disclosed.

This merger transforms cooperation between members of the same international network into a joint organisation with shared resources. When the Belgian-Dutch merger was announced in January, Baker Tilly had stated that the partners from both countries would together hold a majority stake in a parent company, whilst Inflexion would become a minority shareholder.

Pooling of resources and continuity

The change is therefore more far-reaching than a simple trade agreement. The three firms will be able to coordinate their investments, share their specialists more widely and provide a single point of contact for clients whose cases span several countries. Baker Tilly Luxembourg summarises the objective as follows: “Pooling resources, coordinating investments and sharing expertise, whilst allowing each firm to make its own decisions at home.”

For clients in Luxembourg, the firm promises continuity in terms of teams and points of contact. “Our clients will retain their usual firm and points of contact. We will maintain our governance structure, our close ties with the local community and our decision-making capacity in Luxembourg,” says Yannick Ravaine, who is taking up the role of CEO.

This claimed autonomy is one of the sensitive issues in the deal. Inflexion is not merely a provider of capital. The British fund presents its investment in Baker Tilly Netherlands as the starting point for a consolidation strategy, combining organic growth and acquisitions. On its website, it explains that the merger with the Belgian arm represented its first regional expansion and highlights its experience in developing professional services groups.

A broader range of expertise

The 2024 annual report of Baker Tilly Netherlands states that Inflexion had acquired a 48% stake in the Dutch entity. At the time, the firm had a turnover of €148.9m and employed more than 1,000 people. The percentage stake that the fund will hold in the expanded platform in Luxembourg has not been specified.

The injection of external capital should make it possible to fund initiatives that a domestic firm would find more difficult to develop on its own: digital tools, artificial intelligence, the recruitment of specialists and the organisation of assignments spanning multiple jurisdictions. “The platform gives us this dimension: broader expertise, more specialists and greater investment capacity,” explains Yannick Ravaine.

The project also incorporates an explicit strategy of external growth. Upon acquiring a stake in Baker Tilly Netherlands, Inflexion described the sector as ripe for consolidation and stated its intention to support the firm’s development “both organically and through acquisitions”. Since then, the Dutch operations have been further expanded through a merger with the firm Baat, bringing the announced combined turnover to over €220m.

Change of management

For Baker Tilly Luxembourg, joining this platform therefore means gaining access to greater capabilities, but also forming part of a regional strategy in which growth, acquisitions and technology will be more closely coordinated. The firm emphasises the limitation placed on this integration: “Strategic and operational management [remains] in the hands of the partners in each country.”

The merger coincides with a handover at the firm’s top level. Jean-Claude Lucius and Jean-Philippe Mersy will gradually step back from day-to-day management, whilst remaining involved during a transition period. Yannick Ravaine becomes CEO, whilst Arnaud Delalle takes over as chairman of the board. The responsibilities previously concentrated in the role of managing partner are thus divided between the executive management and the chairmanship of the governing body.

“We have built this transition over time, together with our partners. Jean-Philippe and I started out here as juniors, and we are now passing the baton to partners who have built their careers with us. It is a source of pride,” says Jean-Claude Lucius.

Four directors have been promoted to partners simultaneously, bringing the number of partners to nine. Julie Ratajczak heads up the firm’s payroll, international employee mobility and personal tax practice. Michaël Duval advises international clients, start-ups and investment vehicles whilst leading the digitalisation of the firm’s tools. Loïc Heinrich specialises in accounting and finance, particularly in valuation, consolidation, business plans and restructuring. Nicolas Meyer supports private equity firms and investment structures, from the formation of investment vehicles through to their ongoing monitoring and reporting. “Appointing four partners from within our own teams, at the very moment we are joining the platform, says it all: we are building our growth with the people who already know our clients,” says Arnaud Delalle.

It will, however, be important to bear this distinction in mind in practice. Baker Tilly Luxembourg promises that “decisions relating to our clients and our business lines will continue to be taken in Luxembourg”. At the same time, investments, resources and part of the growth strategy will be organised on a Benelux-wide basis, with a financial shareholder whose stated aim is to accelerate consolidation within the sector.

The new structure thus seeks to combine two approaches: the local focus of a national firm and the investment clout of a regional group. “The Benelux platform gives us the means to support our clients on larger projects, without altering what makes us valuable: our proximity to and knowledge of the Luxembourg market,” says Yannick Ravaine. It is this balance between local autonomy and financial integration that will determine the extent of the real change.