Ian Barclay

Practice Areas

Almost every deal crosses borders. Distribution partners, international supply chains, and foreign management or owners bring compliance and other risks that deal teams need to understand quickly. Integrity due diligence is now an essential part of any international transaction. We work with many of the world’s most successful private equity and strategic investors and their advisors to help them understand the target company and management team fast.

Wallbrook teams are integrated into our clients’ transaction process and have a unique understanding of the compliance risks of a wide variety of sectors. We deliver deal-driven intelligence that often surfaces issues which cut straight to the value of a transaction. Our reports and methodology, and the analysts that sit behind them, have withstood some of the most rigorous regulatory scrutiny.

We are are particularly expert at supporting investors active in emerging markets, especially in sectors where political connectivity and corruption risk are highest. Wallbrook’s analysts are organised around both regional and sector expertise, ensuring insight into corruption trends, identifying conflicts of interests or political influence, and understanding common offshore structures to unravel beneficial ownership or hidden control.

Career

Ian is a Managing Partner at Wallbrook where he manages an active caseload of due diligence and investigative assignments across a variety of international jurisdictions. He previously worked as Executive Managing Director at Stroz Friedberg from 2013 to 2018 and was part of the management team that oversaw the acquisition and integration of Stroz Friedberg by Aon Plc in 2016.

Ian was previously a Co-Founder and Director of Billiter, a leading due diligence and investigations firm, and led the sale of the firm to Stroz Friedberg in 2013. While at Billiter, Ian oversaw the establishment of the firm’s London and Hong Kong offices.

He advises senior executives, in-house compliance and legal team, and outside counsel, on business intelligence pre-transaction, and counterparty due diligence throughout the world. He has assisted clients handling a large number of complex regulatory investigations and developed compliance due diligence programs to help them comply with a wide range of regulatory regimes. He has been actively assisting clients throughout the Asia Pacific region for over 15 years and was part of the first externally appointed team to undertake non-financial due diligence investigations for the Asian Development Bank. Both as part of Aon’s M&A and Transaction Solutions and in his current role at Wallbrook, Ian remains heavily focused on assisting private equity clients in examining corruption and other regulatory red flags in potential transactions.

Ian graduated with a Law and Politics degree from Queen Mary College, University of London. He also holds an MPhil from the University of Cambridge in International Relations.