WTS is launching a UK tax advisory business, backed by private capital group EQT Partners in a bid to challenge the Big Four’s dominance of the sector. Led by EY alumnus Jeff Soar, the national practice has already recruited 10 partners, and intends to expand that tenfold within five years.
Headquartered in Munich, WTS is one of the leading tax advisory firms in Germany, generating annual revenues of more than €250 million. Last year, the group entered a long-term strategic partnership with the global private equity firm EQT, as it sought to expand its services to become an independent European champion in the tax advisory industry, uniquely free from annual audits.
Realising that ambition in Britain will be WTS UK, an entity which launches with major plans to see out the decade. While it launched with a double-digit number of partners, it hopes to hit 100 within the next five years – something which would see it reach roughly 60% of the size of EY’s UK tax practice.
Helming those Big Four-sized ambitions will be Jeff Soar; an experienced senior professional, who brings significant knowhow from EY to WTS. Specialising in building practices and advising boards, executives and investors across global tax, insurance and legal markets, Soar will serve as CEO of WTS’ new UK operations.
“We’ve got a level of ambition that people very quickly will see us as standing toe to toe with the Big Four’s [tax practices] — that’s our goal,” Soar told the Financial Times said.
Soar is the latest high-profile exit from EY, following the collapse of its controversial plans to split its audit and advisory wings. But his project at WTS takes some lessons from the episode – with Soar pitching the new venture as “a true challenger to the Big Four”, but avoiding the regulatory scrutiny which comes from the potential conflicts their audit businesses present their advisory offerings. Referring to Project Everest, Soar also hinted to the Financial Times that amid a growing sense that the Big Four’s models faced challenges, Everest did open people’s minds in the sector “a little bit to… doing something [differently].”
And while WTS is looking to grow its UK partnership rapidly, it aims to use technology to maintain a lower headcount. With lower administrative costs, WTS believes it can undercut the Big Four – particular with AI, which Soars insists is “the future of tax.”
He concluded, “Tax is probably the best part of professional services for AI: it’s rules-based, repeatable, data-driven. What’s better?”
WTS has 11 offices across Germany and also operates locations in Poland, as well as the UK. Even prior to the launch of WTS UK, its long-standing member firm in the financial services sector, WTS Hansuke, has represented the brand. The group will continue to invest in those operations separately – having welcomed Neiha Perera as a partner (also from EY) at the start of 2026.
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