Anthesis and Wallbrook Merge to Form the Most Comprehensive, Full-Service ESG Offering in Response to the Shifting Regulatory Landscape

• Combined offering provides market-leading expertise across all ESG factors and the cohesion required to tackle regulations such as CSRD

• United as B Corps;  aligning purpose with profit

• Expands Anthesis further into the US, Europe and Asia with the addition of offices in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and Zurich

Anthesis, the sustainable performance activator and the largest group of dedicated sustainability professionals globally, announces a merger with Wallbrook, a leading global ESG advisory firm focused on anti-corruption, investigations & resolving disputes, business ethics and human rights.

This strategic deal reflects a shifting regulatory landscape and growing stakeholder expectations for investors and companies to help build a more sustainable future. Merging Anthesis' decade of experience guiding clients on their sustainability transition across environmental and social issues with Wallbrook's cultural, linguistic and thematic expertise across business ethics, compliance and human rights will enable clients to cohesively address the E, S and G aspects of their business models. All delivered through one team with the aim of helping clients succeed in the economy of the future.

With offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and Zurich, Wallbrook was established in 2018 to support the world's foremost organisations to be responsible stakeholders in their global activities, providing on-the-ground intelligence to help them respect human rights, combat corruption, trace and recover assets and benefit society.

Wallbrook’s Co-Managing Partner, Ian Barclay, will join the Anthesis Board and become part of Anthesis' leadership team as part of the integration. Attracting high-integrity and mission-driven individuals, the 70-strong team includes Mariana Abreu, Wallbrook's Head of Human Rights, who is a human rights lawyer formerly with Global Witness, Amnesty International and the United Nations; and Wendy Wu, Wallbrook’s Head of Investigations and a former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Wallbrook will continue to be led by Managing Partner and CEO James Hunt.

Proud to unite with Anthesis as B Corps approaching business as a force for good, the Wallbrook team provides best practice advisory across anti-corruption M&A compliance, business ethics, human rights impact assessments, ESG advisory, internal and workplace culture investigations, and resolving disputes. Wallbrook’s core anti-corruption offering has received the Chambers Tier One Ranking for two consecutive years, one of only four global risk advisory firms to do so.

As one of the leading providers of ESG advisory and integrity due diligence services, Wallbrook's offerings strongly complement Anthesis' established expertise in ESG solutions for corporate businesses, private equity sponsors and other global asset managers across strategy development, transaction due diligence, portfolio engagement and reporting.

Commenting on the deal, Stuart McLachlan, Anthesis Group's CEO, said, “An organisation's governance directly correlates with how it views, and operates within, sustainable business models. All elements of ESG must be a priority, making our merger with Wallbrook an obvious and important addition to Anthesis. Together, we can support organisations to thrive in the face of complexity and disruption as we guide them into a more ethical and responsible existence through local intelligence on a global scale, expertise across all jurisdictions, and combined thinking across the complete ESG agenda. I look forward to working with the wider Wallbrook team and welcoming Ian to our leadership council and the Board.”

Wallbrook's Co-Managing Partner, Ian Barclay, added,  “The combination of Anthesis and Wallbrook offers our clients access to a wide range of experts helping to solve key sustainability challenges in support of a circular economy, through effective ESG diligence and human rights impact assessments, supply and value chain analysis, policy development and reporting. I am particularly excited that our corporate clients and the wide array of investment platforms we serve will benefit from Anthesis’ depth in environmental consulting, as we continue to support them in the transition to net zero and navigate such a dynamic regulatory environment.”

Gary Tipper, Managing Partner at Palatine, commented, “Environmental, Social and Governance challenges are often inherently interlinked so broadening Anthesis’ capability in Governance will strengthen its ability to make a meaningful difference to its clients.  Helping our investments originate and complete strategic M&A is a core value enhancement focus for Palatine and so we are delighted to have done so here.”

Anthesis' 17th acquisition in 10 years, the collective offering brings Anthesis Group to more than 1,100 sustainability specialists with offices in 22 countries. Recognised as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the UK and Europe, Anthesis' ambitions for 2023 are to build on its position as the market leader in sustainable performance and attract the best talent to deliver meaningful impact with the world's largest and most influential organisations globally.

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About Anthesis

Anthesis is the sustainability activator. Proud to be a B Corp, we seek to make a significant contribution to a world which is more resilient and productive.  We do this by working with cities, companies, and other organisations to drive sustainable performance. We develop financially driven sustainability strategies, underpinned by technical expertise, and delivered by innovative collaborative teams across the world.  Anthesis has clients across all industry sectors and supports some of the world's largest multinationals such as Reckitt, Cisco, Tesco, The North Face, and Target.

The company brings together over 1,100 experts operating in 45 countries around the world and has offices in Andorra, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the US. www.anthesisgroup.com 

About Wallbrook

Wallbrook was founded on the belief that building a more sustainable future requires a better private sector. The firm leverages best practices, cultural and linguistic expertise, and on-the-ground intelligence to help businesses respect human rights, combat corruption, resolve disputes and benefit society.

Wallbrook holds a Band 1 ranking from Chambers for its investigative due diligence practice, as does its co-Managing Partner, Ian Barclay; and Band 2 rankings for its ESG and political risk work. Proud to be a B-Corp, Wallbrook has been named Best For the World for its employee-friendly policies, placing it in the top 5% of B-Corps of its size globally.

Wallbrook has offices in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, LA, Dubai and Zurich, assisting the world’s leading organisations protect their reputations and act ethically. www.wallbrook.com

Photos are available upon request.  

For more information contact: 

Charlotte Chadwick, Global PR Manager at Anthesis 

Email: charlotte.chadwick@anthesisgroup.com   

Tel: 07515 854 510