S&W has strengthened its consulting arm with the acquisition of Fredward, a London-based financial services management and data consultancy. 

The deal brings all 45 Fredward colleagues into the business, including two partners and six directors, adding expertise in financial services data transformation and management. 

It follows the recent move to make consulting a standalone business line within S&W, designed to simplify access to services such as transformation, regulatory, accounting, risk advisory, technology and data. 

Fredward is the sixth business S&W has acquired since launching in March 2025 with Apax Funds backing, underlining the group’s rapid expansion strategy.