Baker Tilly South East Europe (BTSEE) is celebrating a major milestone as it marks its 30-year anniversary and approaches the one-year mark of its deal with MHA.
The achievement was observed at The Landmark Nicosia, where Rakesh Shaunak, Chairman at MHA, said to CBN that: “This deal has far exceeded our expectations, we’re very pleased and now we are celebrating the 30-year anniversary of BTSEE,”
Indeed, Marios A. Klitou, CEO of BTSEE, told the audience of senior figures from business, government and the wider professional community that the next 30 years will be equally rewarding.
“We are celebrating a milestone that carries deep meaning for BTSEE, a legacy which began in 1996 in Cyprus,” Klitou said.
He emphasised that it began with a small team that knew it could match global standards, while remaining rooted in local values, adding that they soon expanded into Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and then into Greece, having joined the Baker Tilly network in 2005.
“We aligned our ambitions with a global organisation and served clients across borders,” he said, adding that many of those now include banks, key organisations and government institutions.
“Having their trust is one of the greatest privileges of that journey. We didn’t simply grow, we integrated, aligned, became one regional firm with shared standards and shared values,” Klitou explained.
Indeed, that growth and integration deepened significantly in August 2025 with the €24m deal between BTSEE and MHA, which marked a major shift in Cyprus’ and the wider region’s professional services sector. MHA is the UK and Ireland's representative of the Baker Tilly International Network.
Shaunak, who has known Klitou for about eight years, had high praise for the team and said to CBN that the business relationship was essential to making the merger happen.
“It de-risks everything, as you know business cultures can be different with various modus operandi and ideologies but when you know each other well it de-risks that,” he emphasised.
Shaunak explained: “In BTSEE we found the same culture, and I must thank our partners for the way they have integrated and it became a seamless business.”
In celebrating BTSEE’s 30-year anniversary, Shaunak continued: “We know how difficult it is to start a business, but Marios had the courage and conviction to do that, watch the next 30 years, principles don’t change.”
Klitou is equally passionate about “the partnership which reinforces who we are: a firm that embraces technology, empowers our people and delivers greater value to our customers”.
“A firm that invests in innovation, leads with integrity, humanity and trust,” he emphasised.
MHA is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and Klitou explained they were pleased to be selected as the first expansion since the listing on LSE, explaining that Shaunak’s vision played a pivotal role.
Shaunak is equally optimistic, emphasising that: “We are privileged to be the largest member of Baker Tilly in Europe, while in 2025 we took the bold decision to list on the LSE: it was a fantastic success.”
“The first decision we took within our global strategy, was to make the decision on how to execute our expansion strategy, I was delighted to have an obvious choice in that,” he said.
In his closing remarks, Klitou emphasised that they are incredibly proud of the work the team has carried out in the region over the past 30 years: a dynamic and resilient region with room for growth.
“We are excited to continue that support and innovation over the next 30 years,” he added.
And looking to the future, keynote speaker Joe Nellis CBE, Professor of Global Economy at Cranfield School of Management, and Economic Adviser to MHA, explained that “the old way of doing things is over; the future belongs to the brave”.
In his analysis, he offered that the future will be defined by vulnerability and uncertainty but stressed that those who are agile and thrive during upheavals will do exceptionally well.
In identifying the shifting global power balances underpinned by tense geopolitics, he pointed to Cyprus’ strong GDP growth and its future projections as placing it in a position to manoeuvre favourably.
