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AAB / Blog / 2022 Sector Year in Review
BLOG22nd Dec 2022
This year has been a year of growth, a year of events, a year of change and overall, a year to remember. It has not come without its challenges and changes. As the year draws to a close we asked our specialist sector team leads to look back over the year and share some of their highlights with you. Our commitment to excellent client service has never changed, it’s a commitment that our sector teams live and breathe, we hope you enjoy looking back over a year of highs, lows and everything in between with us!
“It’s been a great year for the tech sector team. The team in Glasgow has spent this year getting involved in the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC). STAC is on a mission to build Scotland’s next generation of internationally successful companies. The team have found that over the years some fantastic business ideas fail to get off the ground, having these accelerator hubs is more important than ever. It’s so exciting to play our part and help the next generation of tech companies.
In Leeds we held our very first event as part of the Leeds Digital Festival. James Hunt, joined by Fiona Morley from Xero talked about maximising business valuations with automated accounts. The event was a success, and it was great to be able to share our knowledge of the industry this way.
We’re hoping for more events in 2023! We can’t wait to see what 2023 holds for us. We are especially looking forward to working more closely with Mark Graves who has extensive knowledge of the tech sector throughout his work on innovation tax.”-
“This year we’ve seen a lot of growth in our work with higher education institutions across multiple service lines. It’s been fantastic to see the support we’ve been able to provide with several recurring contracts commencing in the year.
Welcoming more brands into the AAB fold has further enhanced our portfolio of public sector charitable and other not for profit. Giving back to local communities is something we are passionate about here at AAB. The growth of our portfolio means that we can help a wide range of trusts from small community based right through to high profile national charities.
As the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated the already devastating effects the pandemic had on the not-for-profit sector. Charities are experiencing an increased demand for services that is unparalleled to what they have seen before as they push to the frontline of this crisis. We are so fortunate to be able to help these organisations throughout 2023 and we cannot wait to provide support and stability for those who need it most.”- Andy Shaw
“We’re new! As the group continues to grow it is so important that we’re able to meet the needs and provide expert knowledge and support to our growing client base. With that in mind we created the industrial sector team to ensure we have a team of experts for our clients. And it’s safe to say that this year we’ve been busy establishing ourselves and giving much needed support to an industry that has been struggling.
What we love about the growth of the group is that we can work cross functionally for the benefit of our clients. The acquisition of AAB Customs has brought a portfolio of new clients in the sector and a new suite of solutions to our clients. This is of particular importance as the challenges of Brexit continue to impact businesses. We’ve also received additional support from indirect tax teams who have been on hand to assist with information regarding post Brexit changes.
It’s amazing that we can provide a full-bodied service for clients. The ease of being able to ask questions and assist with queries all in house has been amazing. Going into our second year of operation we are excited for more growth and more support for clients.” – James Hunt
“This year we have been enjoying in person events again! In September, we attended the Scotland Food and Drink Excellence awards at the EICC. The event was a celebration of the absolute best of Scottish produce and entertainment. We hosted a table of some of our clients and contacts within the industry, and it was an honour to have our friends and guests, Savora Drinks, win Soft Drink of the Year while there!
We’ve also been able to assist our clients through cross functionality. The AAB corporate finance team advised on a number of deals for our clients; a notable deal was the acquisition of Northcoast Seafoods Ltd by Seafood Connection B.V., a Dutch subsidiary of Japan’s Maruha Nichiro.
Though not without its challenges ahead, we can’t wait to see what good 2023 brings for a determined and resilient food and drink industry.”- Derek Mair
“2022 has been a year we delivered a slightly different portfolio of support services to our clients; it was important for us to adapt our support as they rebounded from the low demand and prices from the previous year.
This year the Energy Trilemma (security, sustainability, and affordability) hit home. The realities crystallised to drive a sense of urgency and change to universally meet demand whilst addressing energy transition. Our teams across a diverse range of services supported clients in areas such as leading and supporting M&A and fundraising activities, delivering outsourced and virtual service solutions, and providing ongoing international and domestic compliance.
There is no doubt that 2023 will present further opportunities and challenges in the Energy sector. No matter what those are at AAB we look forward to continuing to dedicate our power matrix of team skills, knowledge, and experience to supporting our clients.”- Alasdair Green
“This year we grew the team! With the addition of our acquisitions we have been able to add further expert knowledge to the team. Delivering expert knowledge, advice and helping our clients with the issues that might keep them up at night has and always will be a priority for us. The growth of the group has helped us to ensure we are providing our clients with experts in all aspects of family business.
We are proud members of Family Business United and this year we sponsored the Family Business Survey. It is so important that we understand the problems our clients are facing to ensure that we are providing the very best advice and support to help them combat these challenges and so that we can support them properly.
We’re already looking ahead to 2023 with the upcoming Family Business Conference on the 20th of April. If you’re attending, we can’t wait to see you there!”- Lyn Calder
In a year that’s seen three Prime Ministers and a turbulent economic and political backdrop we are proud to say that we’ve been able to help our clients adapt, innovate, grow, invest and succeed.
We’ve been networking with and supporting the new and exciting Legaltech initiative, pioneered by one of our clients, which champions innovation in the Legal sector through technology. It’s been great to see the legal sector embrace technology in a completely new and exciting way this year.
We are excited to see what 2023 brings. This year there’s been an increase in R&D Claims as well as increased Corporate Finance activity. We are in a great position to be able to help clients within the sector and can’t wait to see how the sector develops, grows and innovated in 2023.”- Joel Topham
“The construction and Property sector has not been without challenges this year. From rising inflation and interest rates to staff shortages. Despite these challenges we have still been able to help our clients succeed.
These challenges have meant that we’ve adapted the way we support our clients. That is something great about AAB that we can adapt and tailor our support to what the client needs. One size fits all doesn’t work. With the growth of the group, we have been able to work across multiple functions, service lines and sector teams to ensure that we are providing a full suite of solutions.
There’s a lot of uncertainty for the construction and property sector with construction risks, energy efficiency of buildings and increasing difficulty obtaining funding for new projects. Something we are confident in is that no matter what 2023 brings we are in a great position to help support the sector.”- Derek Gemmell
Wishing you and all your loved ones a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year,
AAB Sector teams