AAB crowned Top Dealmakers for 15th Consecutive Year

AAB one of the UK’s leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, has rounded off one of their most successful years of dealmaking by being named as the top dealmakers in Scotland in 2019 for a 15th consecutive year.

This fantastic recognition, as the accountants having completed the most deals in Scotland by the Scottish Business Insider, is one that AAB has now held consistently from 2005 to 2019. In the latest figures released, the Scottish Business Insider recognised that AAB had successfully completed 62 deals in 2019, nearly double any other accountancy firm during the same time period with its closest rival hitting 33 deals.

AAB’s key M&A highlights during 2019 included the management buy-out of Arjowiggins Creative Papers, DC Thomson Media’s acquisition of PSP Media, the sale of Apollo Offshore to Global Energy Group and the disposal of Motion Software to Jonas Software.  AAB has significantly increased its focus on deal activity in the Central Belt following its Edinburgh office launch in June 2018 and the Central Belt deals team, led by Lyn Calder, is rapidly growing following the completion of 20 deals across the Central Belt during 2019.

Commenting on the team’s achievements, Douglas Martin, Head of AAB Corporate Finance, said: “I am incredibly proud of our team for securing the position of top dealmakers for the 15th year running. It is a real testament to their drive, ability and entrepreneurial spirit to initiate and execute transactions across Scotland and further afield. We are also very grateful to our clients, and referrers of business, who have been excellent advocates for the quality of service we can offer. Our extensive knowledge of our key markets and sectors is a huge factor in our ability to get deals done on attractive terms for our clients, with transaction volumes increasing as we extend our geographical coverage and welcome more top talent to AAB.”

“We have had a great start to 2020, with a number of significant deals already announced during this first quarter including James Donaldson Group’s acquisition of Rowan Manufacturing and Smith & Frater, the buy-out of Tepnel Pharma Services from Hologic and the growth capital investment in Aqualife Services.  It’s proving to be a massively exciting time for us and we look forward to delivering even greater success during 2020.”