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PwC has made legal threats to senior figures at Unity Advisory as the Big Four firm’s relationship with a former executive who left to launch the boutique consultancy descends into acrimony.
PwC’s former UK chief operating officer Marissa Thomas launched Unity with $300mn in private equity backing last year, alongside former EY UK boss Steve Varley, vowing to peel off clients and partners from top consulting firms.
The Big Four firm has sent a series of “threatening” legal letters to key partners at the start-up, people familiar with the matter told the FT.
The stand-off illustrates how top consultancies guard their dominance and marks a deterioration in the once close professional relationship between Thomas and PwC’s UK boss Marco Amitrano.
One person who knows both executives described the backdrop to the letters as intensely personal: “It is a bit like a divorce . . . when friends break up and start competing, you get lots of people in the middle, stuck.”
When PwC’s top UK job came up in 2024, Thomas was widely seen as a strong candidate to run the 33,700-person firm after leading its deals and tax units but was not included on a three-person shortlist for the role. Consulting boss Amitrano eventually won an election for the position.
Unity, which is backed by Warburg Pincus, has hired several former PwC partners, some of whom had been asked to take early retirement from the Big Four firm in 2024.
The boutique has hired law firm Mishcon de Reya to advise on the legal restrictions partners are bound by after they leave PwC, according to one of the people.
Like other firms, PwC’s partnership agreement includes non-compete clauses that restrict partners from soliciting and working with the firm’s clients, and from poaching staff after they leave.
PwC has also threatened to strip annuities from some partners who joined Unity, according to three of the people, adding that some PwC partners leaving for competitors have had their annuities removed entirely.
Annuities are a post-retirement income stream funded by PwC’s profits, a coveted perk distinct from conventional pensions.
According to one person at PwC, the possibility of departing partners being forced to give up their annuities has led to a musical “jingle” being shared internally: “Talk to Unity, lose your annuity.”
A person close to PwC said that partners who join competitors “routinely” forfeit their annuities.
PwC has also withdrawn access to its healthcare scheme for some partners moving to Unity, said one of the people, describing the move as “petty”.
Several partners moving to Unity had originally been told they would be able to retain access to the scheme so they could continue to see their long-standing doctors, according to two of the people. But a person close to PwC insisted no such promise had been made and that retirees moving to competitors “routinely” had their access withdrawn.
One of the people familiar with the matter said PwC’s legal letters appeared to be an attempt to wear down the boutique, while another said the Big Four firm was “acting the bully”.
Onerous exit processes are seen by many in the industry as a deterrent to partners joining rival firms. One former PwC partner who was stripped of their annuity described the exit negotiations as “horrific”, destroying their relationship with the firm.
PwC said: “Partners . . . are aware of the obligations, responsibilities and restrictions that come with their role, and these are balanced by competitive rewards. PwC also has a responsibility to fairly protect its interests, particularly where restrictions may have been breached.”
Amitrano wrote to partners before the publication of this article, acknowledging that media coverage could make for “uncomfortable reading” but adding that the firm was committed to “treating all of our former colleagues with the utmost respect”.
A person close to PwC said that the firm only sent legal letters when it suspected a breach of its partnership agreement.
Unity Advisory and Warburg Pincus declined to comment.
Unity’s documents for new hires made clear the legal restrictions on people joining from other firms, said one person who has seen them.