A top 50 chartered accountancy firm with 300 staff across four offices had been treated as an account number by a succession of suppliers. Highgate took on the whole estate: 350 laptops refreshed, Microsoft licensing on a single commit, and voice folded into Teams.
Chartered accountancy • 300 employees • 4 UK offices • Client since 2023
Dell laptops refreshed across four offices
Offices brought under one IT relationship
Staff supported, plus 28 partners
Supplier relationship, replacing a fragmented arrangement
Mercer & Hole is an independent top 50 UK chartered accountancy firm founded in 1905. With 28 partners and around 300 staff across four offices in London, St Albans, Rickmansworth and Milton Keynes, it provides audit, tax, advisory and financial planning to corporate and private clients.
It operates in a sector where reliability, data security and compliance are non-negotiable, and it runs an FCA-regulated financial planning practice alongside its core service lines. That is the environment our managed IT for financial services firms is built around.
Four offices, 300 staff and an FCA-regulated practice to support, with no consistent account ownership behind any of it.
Previous suppliers treating a significant professional services firm as an undifferentiated account
Poor responsiveness and a lack of proactive communication across a multi-site environment
No consistent relationship or account ownership to drive strategic IT decisions
Invoicing and cost management lacking the transparency the firm required
With four offices, around 300 staff, and an FCA-regulated financial planning practice to support, Mercer & Hole needed an IT partner capable of managing a complex, multi-site environment with consistency and care. Previous supplier relationships had fallen short, leaving the firm feeling like a number on a ledger rather than a client with specific needs.
The firm required a supplier that would take the time to understand how Mercer & Hole actually works, across its offices, its service lines and its regulatory obligations, and build a relationship accordingly. What they had instead was a transactional arrangement that prioritised neither responsiveness nor value.
Rather than a reactive, break-fix approach, the team worked to understand the firm's priorities and build an IT function that supported them, across cloud, connectivity and workplace technology.
Highgate took on management of the IT environment across all four offices, providing one consistent relationship with clear communication and proactive account management.
Microsoft licensing managed through Highgate's CSP portal on an annual commit, giving the firm one relationship and predictable costs.
350 Dell laptops across four offices, with a lease payment plan and white-glove Autopilot deployment.
A voice solution integrated into Microsoft Teams, reducing costs and simplifying communications across all sites.
350 laptops refreshed across four offices with white-glove Autopilot deployment
Microsoft licensing on a single annual commit, with predictable costs
Voice consolidated into Microsoft Teams across all sites
Cleaner, more transparent invoicing
One accountable relationship in place of a fragmented supplier arrangement
The refresh put 350 new Dell laptops into the hands of staff across all four offices, deployed white-glove through Autopilot, while Microsoft licensing moved onto a single annual commit and voice was folded into Teams across every site.
Since partnering with Highgate, Mercer & Hole has experienced a step change in the quality of its IT supplier relationship. Responsiveness improved immediately, invoicing became cleaner and more transparent, and the firm now has an account management relationship built around its own priorities rather than a supplier's.
It has consolidated its IT requirements under one trusted partner, reducing complexity and giving leadership the confidence that IT is being managed proactively rather than reactively.
"What sets Highgate apart is the relationship. We're a complex business with demanding requirements across four offices, and they treat us accordingly – responsive, fairly priced, and genuinely invested in getting it right. A vendor you can truly rely on."
Tom Luknar
IT Manager, Mercer & Hole
Microsoft 365, licensing and infrastructure managed end to end.
Device refresh, deployment and end-user technology across every site.
Voice, network and multi-site connectivity, including Teams voice integration.
"The difference in service with Highgate was clear from day one."
– Lewis Martin, Compliance Manager
"We would not hesitate to recommend Highgate."
– Robin Pengilley, Head of IT Services
"They delivered against all expectations set out at the start of the project."
– Imran Araf, IT Manager
Multi-site estates need one relationship, not four supplier accounts. We will give you an honest read on your current arrangement.
