Our people

Jon Breach

Lead Partner and Senior Executive Officer
Contact details

Jon Breach heads up BDO Corporate Finance in the Middle East.  Jon joined BDO in London in 1990 and has specialised in corporate finance and M&A since 1993 becoming a partner in 2000.

Jon has led numerous transactions on both the buy-side and sell-side involving public and private companies, private equity and structured debt finance.  Notable recent transactions include advising Red & White on its $200 million acquisition of a 25% stake in Arsenal Holdings plc, advising H Bauer on its $1.9 billion acquisition of the consumer magazine and radio division of Emap plc and advising Gyro International, the global marketing services firm, on its $75 million investment from a US Private Equity house.

Jon is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and was educated at Westminster School, London, Oxford University and London Guildhall University.

Sam Surrey

Partner
Contact details

Sam is a partner in Dubai and specialises in financial due diligence and business restructuring.  He moved to BDO Corporate Finance (Middle East) in August 2009 from BDO London, where he had worked since 2005.  Prior to BDO, Sam worked in the corporate finance department of Ernst & Young for six years.

Sam has undertaken a wide range of UK and overseas public and private transactions. Recent transactions include assisting BT plc in acquiring two businesses, a restructuring review of a major hotel group and the sale of a leading outsourcing business.

Sam is currently on a 12 month secondment to Barclays' Emerging Markets Business Support team, where he is working with clients that are experiencing trading or financial challenges and is assisting them with restructuring their debts, reorganising their businesses and developing new strategies.

Sam graduated from Oxford University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Peter Tavener

Director
Contact details

Peter specialises in buy and sell side financial due diligence.  He joined BDO in London in 1995 and has worked in corporate finance since 1999.

Peter has been involved in a broad range of transactions, including pre-acquisition due diligence for corporates and private equity houses, bank lending reviews and AIM and Full List reporting accountant assignments.  He has also worked on a number of corporate finance strategy assignments.  Peter’s work has an International focus and he has worked on transactions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the United States and Central and South America.  Notable recent transactions include financial due diligence on ADNEC’s $270 million acquisition of ExCeL and strategic due diligence on the US re-insurers PPC and RVI. Peter has also been involved in a number of restructuring transactions.

Peter is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Richard Showell

Assistant Director 
Contact details

Richard joined BDO in 2002 and has specialised in corporate finance since qualifying in 2005.

Richard is focused on financial due diligence assignments for corporate and private equity/wealth fund investors.  His transaction experience includes public and private deals across a variety of sectors including financial services, construction, retail, information technology and manufacturing.

Notable transactions include provision of vendor due diligence services to Whitworths in respect of the $140m acquisition by European Capital, reporting accountant on the IPO of the international financial services group Arden Partners and advising Busy Bees on their $50m acquisition of Leapfrog Day Nurseries.  Richard has also worked on Shari'ah financing and restructuring assignments.

Richard is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Oosman Dadabhoy

Director, Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer
Contact details

Oosman joined BDO in 2005 and is the Compliance Officer and MLRO for BDO Corporate Finance.  Oosman divides his time between Dubai and London and oversees the compliance and risk function for the corporate finance team of over 200 people in the UK.

Oosman is also involved in business development for BDO Corporate Finance in the Middle East.  In particular, Oosman focusses on local corporates and Islamic banking.

Prior to BDO, Oosman held senior positions at Morgan Stanley, ABN Amro and Prudential Bache International.

Ivan Woods

Director, Head of Infrastructure Advisory
Contact details

Ivan joined BDO in 2010 to build up its Infrastructure Advisory practice in the Middle East. He has worked in project finance and PPP projects since 1995, as both advisor and lender.

He moved to Dubai in 2009 as a consultant to IFC (World Bank group), advising Saudi Arabia's Aviation Authority on its Madinah Airport and Airport City PPP projects.

Previously Ivan was based in Hong Kong, joining HSBC in 2000 to advise on infrastructure investments across Asia, also working on lending roles including some of China's largest project financings. He then headed the international PF team for Korea's Woori Bank, which underwrote over $1 billion to Middle East projects in 2006-08.

Jason Peers

Senior Adviser
Contact details

Jason has worked in the Middle East for some 20 years as a senior lending banker and more recently as an independent advisor to clients including the UK Government and many leading UK and Gulf based companies.

Jason acts as a Senior Adviser to BDO and, among other roles, is the Special Representative of UK Trade & Investment for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Financial Services Sector and is a member of the Saudi-British Joint Business Council. In 2001, he founded Jasper Capital Limited and has subsequently advised clients ranging from the United Kingdom Government, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, several Gulf based financial institutions and many leading United Kingdom and Gulf based companies.

Jason is the Special Representative of the UK Trade & Investment for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Financial Services Sector. He is a member of the Saudi British Joint Business Council and on the Middle East Council of the International Project Finance Association (IPFA).

Jason is also a Senior Advisor to Mubadala GE Capital PJSC.

Ed Hooper

Senior Executive
Contact details

Ed is a Senior Executive in the Dubai Corporate Finance practice.  He joined BDO in London in 2005 and moved to BDO in the UAE soon after qualifying in 2008.

Ed has worked with a broad range of clients including fully listed companies, global partnerships and privately owned businesses whilst gaining strong cross sector experience through his involvement on professional services, technology, media, construction and retail projects. During his time in the UAE his role expanded to include managing global assignments in the construction chemicals industry as well as local clients in the real estate, retail, construction and oil & gas industries. 

Ed graduated in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Bath and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Patrick McAuley

Senior Executive
Contact details

Patrick is an Executive in the Dubai Corporate Finance practice.  He joined BDO in February 2011.

Prior to joining BDO he spent one year in the capital markets group and four years in the assurance practice of a big four firm. Patrick has worked with a broad range clients including fully listed companies, large family groups and privately owned businesses. His experience covers a broad range of industry sectors including; manufacturing, education, retail and FMCG.

Patrick graduated  in accounting and finance from the  University of Sheffield and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.