Specialist Food & Drink Expertise to Grow Your Business

As featured in the May/June 2019 issue of Insider Magazine, AAB is delighted to share details of our dedicated food and drink team’s knowledge, experience and recent experience.

Specialist Food & Drink Expertise to Grow Your Business

It is a challenging but also an exciting time for the food and drink industry with Scotland’s target to more than double the turnover in the food and drink sector to £30bn by 2030. This presents a wealth of opportunity for businesses to capitalise on an industry that is a key contributor to Scotland’s economy.

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, have long since built a strong reputation for working with and supporting businesses in this sector, but have seen an increase in activity following the appointment of their dedicated Food and Drink Team, headed up by Partner Derek Mair. This team brings together specialists across several service areas of the firm, all of whom have extensive knowledge in the food and drink sector and have the experience and resource to support any business from start-ups to established companies.

As part of their continued commitment to the sector, the AAB team are delighted to be sponsors of the Scotland Food & Drink Leadership Dinners. This programme provides another great opportunity to engage with the leaders of Scotland’s food and drink companies on topical issues and developments which enables AAB to support these businesses further.

The Team & Key Services

The comprehensive knowledge of and passion for the sector combined with the extensive range of services AAB provide allows the Food & Drink team to add value to businesses as they establish and face growth challenges in the market, with particular focus on assisting with:

• Audit and Corporate Tax
• Business Planning
• Cloud Accounting
• Consulting
• Financial Modelling
• Fundraising
• International Advisory
• M&A
• Specialist Tax, including R&D Claims
• UK and Global Payroll
• VAT and Duty
• Virtual Finance Function / Outsourcing

In addition to the above, AAB’s SeeHearSpeakUp service line specialise in implementing effective whistleblowing solutions to businesses in a safe, secure and supportive environment to encourage whistle-blowers to speak up and be heard. This has been a particular growth area for the team as Food Safety Standards now states that all BRC accredited sites must have audits of records, systems and documentation for a confidential reporting system to enable staff to report concerns relating to product safety, integrity, quality and legality, following the publication of version 8 of the BRC Global Standards. The AAB team has experienced a significant increase in implementing confidential reporting systems which is now a requirement for all BRC accredited sites.

Other recent trends experienced by the team include the sustained period of growth and success in the Scottish Seafood sector and as a result the team have experienced an increase in M&A activity and investment from overseas players looking to establish a presence in Scotland. Established breweries have been increasingly requiring support across a number of areas including virtual finance, financial modelling and global payroll. While start-up distilleries, within the gin and whisky sector, have been looking for support with fundraising activity to continue to grow and develop their businesses. The team have also experienced an increase in international businesses looking to invest in Scotland food and drink companies, with a particular focus on whisky.

International Expertise Locally

AAB’s Food and Drink team work in partnership with businesses Scotland-wide, many of which operate internationally. Each sector within the Food and Drink industry requires its own approach, and the team are well equipped to assist in providing a tailored solution to assist all businesses, regardless of their size or stature, with their extensive experience and expertise.

AAB’s considerable in-house expertise is underpinned by tried and tested global networks. This, matched with the international interest in Scotland’s food and drink industry is a recipe for success. Whether it be locally, nationally, or indeed internationally, AAB can support clients through every stage of their lifecycle. In doing this, the firm aims to play its part in assisting food and drink businesses in continuing to grow and strengthen the Scottish economy.

AAB’s Food & Drink Team – Left to Right: Ricky Cowan, Lyn Calder, Derek Mair, Matthew Allan and Neil Dinnes