Azets

What Azets does

Azets is an international professional services group headquartered in London, providing outsourced accounting, tax, audit, payroll, HR, business advisory, and consulting services primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises across the UK, Ireland, and the Nordics, with delivery hubs in Romania and Estonia. Founded in 2001 and privately held by Hg Capital and PAI Partners, Azets operates approximately 190 offices in 8 countries with around 9,000 employees serving more than 100,000 clients, positioning itself as a top-ten UK accountancy and business advisory firm.

The group's core technology stack centers on Azets Cozone, a proprietary web-based financial portal that integrates client financial management, payroll, document sharing, and compliance workflows, hosted on ISO-certified AWS infrastructure with TLS 1.2+ encryption, two-factor authentication, and 24/7 security operations center monitoring aligned with ISO 27001 and CIS Controls. Cozone connects to a broad third-party ecosystem spanning Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, Visma, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, DocuSign, UiPath, and DataSnipper AI for document data extraction, with AI tools applied in assistive roles (document processing, data analysis, report drafting) under qualified-staff review.

Azets generates revenue primarily through recurring retainer and project-based professional services fees across accounting/bookkeeping, tax, audit and assurance, payroll and HR, and business advisory streams, targeting SMEs as the primary segment with secondary mid-market corporate finance and high-net-worth private client coverage. Its go-to-market is sales-led and partner-driven, combining a 190-office local-presence distribution network with thought leadership (the quarterly Azets Barometer surveying 1,500+ business leaders) and a programmatic M&A roll-up strategy that has executed over 100 acquisitions to date, integrating acquired firms under the Azets brand or retaining select sub-brands such as Blick Rothenberg and Ensors.

Name

Azets

Legal name

Azets Opco Limited

Website

https://azets.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Azets is a London-headquartered international professional services group providing outsourced accounting, tax, audit, payroll, HR, and business advisory services to more than 100,000 SMEs and mid-market clients across 8 countries, delivered through approximately 190 offices and 9,000 employees backed by the proprietary Cozone platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Services (Accounting, Tax, Audit and Business Advisory)

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Professional Employer Organizations (561330)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Advisory (BPAHAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Insolvency & Turnaround Advisory (SME/Mid-Market Debtor-Side) (FSAEAFAK)

Keywords

• Outsourced accounting services
• Payroll and HR services
• Tax and audit services
• Business advisory consulting
• Professional services firm

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices24 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Accounting and Bookkeeping Services: Professional services revenue from providing accounting, bookkeeping, and financial reporting services to SMEs and larger enterprises on a retainer or project basis.
2. Tax Services: Tax advisory, compliance, and planning services generating recurring revenue from corporate and personal tax clients.
3. Audit and Assurance: Statutory and voluntary audit services for businesses of various sizes.
4. Payroll and HR Services: Payroll processing and HR administration services, often delivered through the Cozone platform.
5. Business Advisory and Consulting: Advisory services including digitalization, organizational development, strategy, CFO support, and transaction support.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Azets is an international professional services group that provides outsourced accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, HR administration, tax compliance and advisory, audit and assurance, business advisory, corporate finance, restructuring and insolvency, and wealth management services to SMEs and mid-market companies. The group operates across approximately 190 offices in 8 countries, supported by its proprietary Cozone web-based financial portal and deep integrations with leading accounting, payroll, and ERP software platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Azets Cozone: A web-based financial portal for clients to access financial services, payroll, and document management.
• Azets Wealth Management
• Azets Barometer
• Gorilla Accounting

Products and services

• Accounting and Bookkeeping Services Recurring professional services covering financial reporting, bookkeeping, management accounts, and outsourced finance function delivery for SMEs and mid-market companies.
• Tax Services Corporate and personal tax advisory, compliance, and planning services, including HMRC Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliance support delivered through the Swansea MTD hub.
• Audit and Assurance
• Payroll and HR Services Payroll processing and HR administration services, often delivered through the Cozone platform and integrated with partner HR/workforce systems such as Quinyx and Visma.
• Business Advisory and Consulting Advisory services covering digitalization, organizational development, strategy, CFO support, and transaction support delivered through Azets Consulting and country practices.
• Wealth Management and Private Client Services Wealth management and private client tax services for high-net-worth individuals and family businesses, delivered via Azets Wealth Management and private-client partners in offices such as Maidstone, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.
• Restructuring and Insolvency Restructuring, insolvency, and forensic accounting services delivered by specialist teams in offices including Southampton and Wolverhampton.
• Corporate Finance Corporate finance, M&A advisory, due diligence, and debt advisory support delivered through the corporate finance team, including the Leeds-based appointment of Ben Hick.
• Azets Cozone Digital Portal Proprietary web-based financial portal integrating multiple applications for client financial management, payroll, document sharing, and compliance services, hosted on ISO-certified AWS infrastructure with TLS 1.2+ encryption and two-factor authentication.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration69 records

AI capability6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationISO certified cloud hosting provider for Azets Cozone platform, providing high availability through multiple availability zones in Sweden and across Europe.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of productivity software including Office 365, Exchange Online, Power BI, and Teams, with EU and GB data hosting.
• VismacoreTechnology or IntegrationNordic software provider supplying ERP, payroll, HR, and invoice flow systems across Norway, Sweden, and Denmark operations.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• RSM International: Global mid-tier accounting and advisory network with similar SME/mid-market focus and partner-led model — direct competitor to Azets in the UK and across multiple European geographies.
• BDO Global: Top-10 global accounting network competing directly with Azets in audit, tax, and advisory across UK, Ireland, and the Nordics — same mid-market positioning with international scale.
• Grant Thornton International: Mid-tier global accounting and advisory network with comparable service breadth (audit, tax, advisory) and similar SME to mid-market client profile.
• Baker Tilly International: Mid-tier accounting network with overlapping geographies (UK, Nordics) and SME mid-market client base — relevant given Azets' history of acquiring former Baker Tilly firms (e.g., Baker Tilly Ireland).
• Crowe Global: Global mid-tier accounting network with comparable service breadth and a similar strategy of partnering with regional firms across multiple European markets.
• HLB International: Mid-tier international accounting network with a strong SME/mid-market footprint across UK, Ireland, and the Nordics — directly comparable in target client and service mix.

Broad incumbents

• Mazars / Forvis Mazars: Larger global accounting and advisory network that increasingly targets mid-market and SME clients — overlapping audit, tax, and advisory services across Europe.
• KPMG: Big 4 firm with growing mid-market and outsourced-finance offerings in the UK and Nordics — sets the upper-bound competitive benchmark for outsourced accounting at scale.
• PwC: Big 4 firm competing across audit, tax, and advisory; recruits from and hires into the same talent pool that Azets draws partners and senior staff from.

Emerging players

• Pilot.com: Tech-enabled outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, and CFO services firm targeting growth-stage SMEs — represents the AI-first, software-led model that may disrupt traditional mid-tier outsourcers like Azets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCf0CMZwiWd5bmpkG8SPs2vA
• Facebookfacebook.com/AzetsNorge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/azets
• Instagraminstagram.com/azetsfinland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A7 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Azets