Calls for cross-party support for implementing recommendations from Scotland’s Urban AGE II

SCOTLAND’S three principal cities are collaborating on a new report looking at the role they have to play in driving the country’s economic recovery and the policy direction, conditions and support from government at all levels that is needed to enable them to succeed.

With just a week to go before the nation heads to the polls in the Scottish Parliamentary election, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh Chambers of Commerce are calling on politicians of all persuasions to commit to placing the AGE city regions at the heart of the economic recovery plan, backed up by clear actions and investment.

This is in light of a recent Scottish Government report entitled Tackling Scotland’s population challenges which contained recommendations including “developing a more sustainable population pattern, with fewer people concentrated around cities”.

The Chambers and Glasgow School of Art are working with Brodies LLP and Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB) on Scotland’s Urban AGE II, the follow up to a report first published in 2018 that examined what was going well, what was not and recommended a series of strategic ideas, interventions and actions aimed at enabling the three cities to become leading players on the global stage concluding that “the available evidence shows that the AGE cities are the key drivers of the Scottish economy” and that “if they are performing well, the spin-off benefits top other towns, cities and rural areas are clear”.

The new report, due to publish in Autumn 2021, will consider what has changed in light of COVID-19 and the accelerating net zero carbon agenda regarding the ability of our principal cities to deliver on their ambitions.

From employment to culture, housing to transport and much more, the research is intended to inform and spark discussion around how the private and public sectors, along with empowered local communities, can work together to create a new, sustainable urban agenda that benefits the whole country, helping to create vibrant places that people choose to live, work, visit and spend their leisure time.

Outcomes will include a range of scenarios and ideas developed in partnership with Scotland’s business communities indicatively outlining the support that Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh will require to enable recovery and the direction of travel they must take towards successfully delivering an improved future for their people. And we are asking that our new Government agrees to engage fully with the findings – backed by clear actions and investment – to ensure the AGE city regions will be at the heart of our nation’s recovery.

The project will be led by Professor Brian Evans, Head of Urbanism at the Glasgow School of Art and director of the Glasgow Urban Laboratory. He is Glasgow’s City Urbanist and an advisor to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, on the future of cities and the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

What the project partners say:

Professor Brian Evans said: “The team is delighted to have the opportunity to re-visit Scotland’s Urban AGE in the light of the current challenges faced by Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is now widely recognised that COVID-19 and climate change will have a profound effect on our lives for years to come. By the end of 2021, and to paraphrase Churchill, we will not be at the end of understanding their effects, but we might be at the beginning of understanding what we need to do. We already know that COVID-19 has accelerated societal change, and this will only gather pace as societies finally gear-up to deal with the climate emergency. We know that the young and the less fortunate have been hardest hit and that the development dynamics of cities, their neighbourhoods and surrounding towns are in flux as a consequence of working patterns, online retailing and mobility demands. We have yet to properly understand the cultural consequences. The challenges of our zeitgeist are immense, as are the opportunities they present if we confront them imaginatively, constructively and collectively. To do so without severe collateral consequences will require patience and a calm approach”.

“Cities centres have been hit hard by the restrictions put in place by governments to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a real risk that decisions being taken now and any related changes of policy direction could see the places that should be the beating heart of our communities become urban deserts of the future. They are finely balanced eco-systems of retail, culture, hospitality, residential and offices with people at their heart. If any of these are out of balance, then the others are likely to fail. Scotland’s Urban AGE II aims to ensure this scenario is avoided.” said Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce.

“The role of Scotland’s largest cities in attracting investment and creating jobs has been a success story which the first Urban AGE report explored in depth.   The pandemic has thrown up some fundamental challenges to our cities and especially to our city centres.  Urban Age II will help us carefully consider the evidence and avoid adopting impulsive assumptions about the way ahead”- Stuart Patrick CBE, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

Liz McAreavey, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, added: “Our Scottish Parliament election manifesto, makes it plain that we need to see the economy and its sustained recovery at the heart of policy, combined with new, closer partnership working. We’ve also stressed the need for plans and measures from government to support the recovery of our cities and city centres, which are vital to the economic, cultural, social wellbeing of Scotland. City centres have suffered disproportionately through the pandemic and we need to ensure that they are fully supported through the recovery. 84% of net additional jobs in Scotland over the next 5 years will be generated by the AGE cities”.

Elaine Farquharson-Black, partner and co-head of planning at Brodies, said: “We believe that the findings of Scotland’s Urban Age II will be important for our clients as it builds on the themes of the initial 2018 study but also addresses the fundamental aspects of economic recovery, taking into account the impact of COVID-19. What remains clear, is that our three main cities have much to offer in terms of creating vibrant places for people to live, work and visit, and the success of these cities benefits the country far beyond Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh’s regional boundaries. It will, however, take collaborative effort, investment and commitment to realise this potential.”

Lyn Calder, Managing Partner – Edinburgh at AAB added “As businesses once again re-open their doors we must continue to engage with and listen to them as they respond to ongoing changes and navigate the post-pandemic landscape. This research will provide a hugely important opportunity to do just that with the business communities across our three largest cities, and across all sectors. Although the focus of the research is on Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, the findings and proposals will ultimately impact the future of the entire Scottish economy. We are delighted to be part of such a meaningful initiative which will hopefully play a part in delivering major change.”

Statement to Universities UK by Glasgow School of Art:

The influential Scotland’s Urban AGE report (2018) which pointed the way forward for the cities of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh will be revisited in the context of COVID-19 which has had a profound on our lives, our economy and on our cities.

The experience economy on which our city centres have thrived (retail, hospitality, culture and the office) has been hit hard. There is speculation that ‘work-from-home’ will change employment patterns permanently, that high street retail may never recover, that extensive amounts office floorspace in city centres may become surplus to requirements. At the same time, the suburbs are predicted to thrive.

Scotland’s Urban AGE II will address the consequences of COVID-19 and the race to zero-carbon on the future of Scotland’s principal cities and consider the implications of ideas such as the 15-20 minute neighbourhood and the hybrid office.

Led by Professor Brian Evans, Director of the Glasgow Urban Lab (at GSA), this major project brings together the GSA; Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh Chambers of Commerce; and the private sector. It will reflect on the findings of Scotland’s Urban AGE, survey the current position and suggest scenarios for Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh that might mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

Scotland’s Urban AGE (1): Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh in the century of the city
Scotland’s Urban AGE (2): The impact of COVID-19 and the climate emergency on the society, economy and environment of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

At AAB we’re always looking to progress both to enhance our awesome client experience and provide a platform for our people which reflects this. The latest changes follow discussions and feedback from the team around working policies in ‘the next normal’. As a result, we are happy to announce that we have introduced hybrid working for all staff (as of 1 April 2021) and enshrined this in our employment contracts for all existing and new staff across our offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London.

Hybrid working enables the team to get both personal and professional satisfaction from working from anywhere to suit particular circumstances, knowing that, working in the office, working at clients or elsewhere is part of what keeps us engaged and able to deliver the awesome service to our clients and each other.

Firm of the Future & Technology

At AAB we started our journey towards becoming a Firm of the Future back in 2018, recognising that by the early 2020s, the profession was going to look very different.

Our project was largely focused on understanding agile methodology, looking at the interaction of agile with our digital strategy and adopting it into our everyday working lives. So being flexible and agile in our work isn’t new to us, and we were already looking at a more flexible model of employment before the pandemic. That said I don’t think anyone could have predicted how quickly the change would happen!

Flexible working is great as it enables us all (the business and the team) to adapt to busier and quieter periods throughout the year. Hybrid working takes this a step further, by recognising the benefits of a changing working environment to enhance productivity and meet the needs of the day. The investment we’ve made in our tech and ability to ‘plug and play’ makes it all possible – people really can work from anywhere and our team are empowered to make their own decisions.

Awesome Client Experience

As part of this process, we have looked at our tech and tried to gain an understanding of how clients want to access our services. In many circumstances working from home/anywhere has benefitted client experience, especially for our international clients and we will continue to listen to them and meet their needs.

Creating a policy enshrined into our employment contracts is one thing but agreeing our Guiding Principles around hybrid and flexible with the team brings this to life and ensures that it becomes steeped in our culture – it’s how we roll!

Team Delivery

Everyone at AAB knows it’s all about delivery, and so there’s no need for detailed rules. Taking into consideration our client needs, those of our team members, project requirements and ensuring they are operating safely and securely are all paramount and part of our commitment to maintaining health, safety, and wellbeing at work.

We also recognise that taking steps like these are required to retain and attract the best people based on how they want to work, which probably isn’t in an office, 9am-5pm, five days a week.

The team are in control of their own work patterns and this approach helps to facilitate a better personal/professional balance. It also means we can recruit from almost anywhere going forward!

Using Working Space Differently

This approach will inevitably lead to a change in how we use our working space. In Edinburgh and London, our offices have always been flexible workspaces in anticipation of working pattern changes so we have great data on what works well and what doesn’t when we consider our future requirements at our HQ in Aberdeen.

Whilst we will redevelop some of the space at Kingshill View into areas for collaborative working, the changes will likely bring opportunities for other “good neighbours” to join law firm Addleshaw Goddard who currently occupy one of our six wings.

AAB in the Next Normal

We are still developing an understanding of what the next normal will look like but feedback on the new hybrid working policy since discussions about it got underway last year have been extremely positive.

Whatever happens, our focus will continue to be on delivering for our clients and embracing flexible/hybrid working to meet the individual needs of our team. We’ll achieve this by trusting our people, having clear accountability, embracing a culture of delivery and awesome client experience.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more information, please get in touch with Graeme Allan.

Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), the tech-enabled business critical services group, is enhancing its leadership team with four key senior promotions across its London, Edinburgh and Aberdeen offices.  David Purse has been promoted to Partner and Amanda Ollason, Stuart Rose and Graeme Penman to Director, effective from 1 April 2021.

David leads AAB’s Global Mobility offering from the firm’s London Office. Having worked across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas, David’s breadth of knowledge allows him to deliver for his clients globally ranging from SMEs to large multinational corporations.  David also plays a key role in building AAB’s client base in London to support the firm’s ambitious growth plans.

Amanda is a key member of AAB’s Corporate Tax team based in the firm’s Aberdeen office. She works with Entrepreneurs’, Family Businesses and High Net Worth Individuals to provide structuring and tax advice with a commercial focus as part of the Expertise to Entrepreneurs’ team, together will all aspects of Corporation Tax compliance.

Stuart and Graeme are both senior members of the firm’s audit team which has enjoyed significant recent growth.  Stuart is based in the firm’s Edinburgh office and has experience in leading audits across a broad range of sectors.  He is Head of Construction & Property Strategy and plays a pivotal role in working with our specialist team to proactively support our 200+ Construction & Property clients across Scotland.

Graeme is based in AAB’s Aberdeen office and has experience in leading audits to a variety of different businesses, ranging from owner managed businesses to international groups. In particular, Graeme has a strong track record of delivering assignments for clients in the energy, industrial and not-for-profit sectors.

Graeme Allan, AAB Chief Executive commented “these promotions reflect the commitment to both the Firm and our expectation of ‘awesome client experience’ and we are delighted for David, Amanda, Graeme and Stuart as it demonstrates the significant contributions each of them have made to their respective business units.

At AAB our focus continues to be investing in our talented team and by strengthening our leadership with promotions like these we shall continue to meet our clients’ diverse needs across a changing market, both in the UK and globally.”

From left: David Purse, Amanda Ollason, Graeme Allan

From Left: Stuart Rose, Graeme Penman

This time last year we announced the AAB Edinburgh team had just doubled its office space to accommodate the growth in our teams. A year on felt like the right time to reflect on 2020 – my first year as Managing Partner and boy did I pick a good year to take on a new challenge!

At the time of our announcement, I was quoted as saying “It is great to be able to reflect on the success we have achieved in Edinburgh to date. We look forward to driving growth across all areas of our business in the central belt in 2020.”

2020 was some whirlwind, and although it wasn’t in the way we imagined, the team still achieved exactly that.

And that team grew quickly. Key appointments including Andy Shaw (Audit), Ian Marshall (Business Advisory) and Richard Johnson (AAB Wealth) meant that each of our 7 business units are now represented at a leadership level in the Central Belt and that’s a really important milestone for us. Their appointments have also allowed us to enhance our sector teams across Scotland, particularly in the tech, business services, public & third, and construction & property sectors. I’m delighted to say our Edinburgh Leadership meetings are swelling in numbers. The virtual board room table is pretty full these days!

Throughout lockdown, two things have been right up there as priorities for me. Looking after our people and making sure our clients got the same awesome experience, they had come to expect from AAB. To make sure we could do the latter, we’ve seen exciting growth across all of our teams. Our payroll & employment taxes team has expanded significantly, and we have continued to welcome recent graduates into our teams, meaning a total of 15 new people have joined us in Edinburgh since March 2020.

AAB is known for being a sociable firm; we work hard and have a lot of fun doing it. Nights out and nights in were part of AAB’s DNA before the pandemic. We obviously organised after-work drinks and quizzes, but as lockdown continued, we all found it a bit more of a struggle to sit in front of our screens for longer than needed on a Friday.

What a lot of us really miss is the chatter in the office across the departments and teams. We try to replicate this during town halls where our teams share the office’s latest developments, but we do this with a fun social twist. We’ve also created squads that are working on projects to encourage collaboration. This has been really important as many of our Edinburgh team don’t typically work together, but sat next to each other every day before the pandemic and socialised throughout the working day and beyond.

At AAB we’ve always focused on the importance of health and wellbeing, and during the last year we had to adapt how we look out for each other. That’s been really important to me as I juggle home schooling and working, just like so many of our team and clients. There’s been a fair amount of flexing my day, and Teams calls with muted moments to help with school work or to do my daughter’s hair! And that’s OK, because we’re all in the same boat.

We’re all struggling in different ways and it’s ok to admit this is tough. The key has been checking in with each other. Not for work reasons, but to make sure we’re all keeping our heads up. I’m now a dab hand at a virtual coffee.

Every business has faced the challenges we have, but it’s the opportunities people have created from this that make each team unique. I’m unbelievably proud of the resilience and positivity of the AAB team and although we have adapted well to everything 2020 has thrown at us, I’m looking forward to walking into a full office once more. The first office night out post lockdown can’t come soon enough.

Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), the tech-enabled business critical services group, has announced that Partner Brian McMurray will join the firm’s Business Advisory Group in a new role to boost the support it provides to its extensive SME client base.

Brian’s new role as Business Advisory Partner follows an unprecedented rise in demand from SME’s seeking strategic and financial advisory support to provide bespoke and tailored solutions to assist them in delivering and executing their plans, from tech firms continuing to strive for growth, to leisure & hospitality businesses fighting to survive the current global pandemic.

Brian has led the firm’s dedicated tech sector growth team for the past three years and this new role shall provide even greater opportunity to work with AAB’s fast-growing tech client base.  The Business Advisory Group team supports businesses operating in the tech and scale-up sector by delivering end-to-end financial solutions across their entire lifecycle.

Brian has significant Corporate Finance experience and has been a Partner at AAB since 2018.  He shall continue to support AAB’s SME client base on transactions going forward.

Derek Mitchell, Head of AAB’s Business Advisory Group, commented “Brian’s skills and experience across our business make him a perfect fit for this new role in our Business Advisory Group. His knowledge of our SME client base, coupled with his experience within the corporate finance arena adds a further dimension to our existing capabilities across our advisory team. Brian’s appointment is another example of our commitment to providing first-class client service delivery through a team of trusted advisors with diverse, multi-disciplinary expertise.”

Commenting on his appointment, Brian said “I am delighted to be joining the Business Advisory Group. This new role is a natural progression of the roles I have held at AAB and comes at an exciting time for the firm as we look to further increase our strategic and financial advisory support to SME clients.

The tech sector in Scotland has been building considerable momentum over the last three years and this has only been accelerated in recent months. There is an opportunity for businesses in this space to accelerate their growth, but they need effective financial support and advice to enable them to do this. Our dedicated tech team understands the needs of these businesses and what they require to grow and we look forward to working with more exciting and interesting businesses in this space.”

Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), the tech enabled critical business services group, has been named top financial advisers in Scotland in Experian’s 2020 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review.

AAB retained their top place from 2019 having advised on 25 deals included in Experian’s 2020 M&A Review. The deals were spread across AAB’s key private sectors of energy, tech, food & drink, construction & property and business services, with deal activity in the tech sector being particularly resilient in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Some of AAB’s key M&A highlights during 2020 included working with leading family businesses across Scotland, including Global Energy Group in their acquisition of Cammach Bryant and James Donaldson Group in their acquisition of Rowan Manufacturing and Smith & Frater.

Commenting on this latest team achievement Douglas Martin, Head of AAB Corporate Finance, said “It is great recognition for our team to remain in first place on the Experian deals listings. The team have continued to demonstrate resilience throughout the changing landscape of 2020 and indeed into 2021, focusing on thinking outside the box with a view to creating and executing deals for our clients.

Although M&A activity in most sectors has been materially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in transactions in the final quarter of 2020 was welcomed as businesses looked to get their medium to long term business objectives back on track. From discussions with clients, prospects and fellow advisors we are optimistic that transaction activity levels will continue to improve throughout 2021 and this is reflected in our current deals pipeline which gives us plenty of reason for optimism.”

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB) has announced that John Black will retire as Partner from the firm at the end of December 2020.

John has spent over 25 years at AAB, including leading the audit division for over seven years. As well as advising on audit, assurance and financial reporting matters, he also assisted clients on acquisitions, disposals, fundraising and restructuring projects. In 2015 John was actively involved AAB’s first acquisition of John F Daly Associates Ltd, a specialist joint venture and contract audit firm.

In recent years, John has been instrumental in building the firm’s credentials and client base in the E&P arena, both in Aberdeen and in London.

Graeme Allan, Chief Executive commented “During his 25 years with the firm John has made an invaluable contribution to the continued success of AAB. In particular, he has played a key role in the development of both our audit and E&P teams, both of which have grown significantly in terms of clients, size and breadth of service.

John has supported many clients through the challenges of change and business growth and has shared his experiences, passing on a wealth of knowledge to us all at AAB. We will miss John in the office day-to-day but look forward to continuing our relationship with him as a valued member of the AAB Alumni. We thank him for his huge contribution to the firm.”

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading independent firms of chartered accountants and business advisors, has announced that the revenues generated by the firm’s VAT team has almost doubled in the last three years. 

The firm has consistently grown year on year for the last 30 years, due to the diverse and comprehensive services it offers clients across the UK.

The indirect tax team, which covers VAT, duty and environmental taxes, is led by Director Alistair Duncan and now has a complement of five indirect tax specialists following the recruitment of a graduate trainee earlier this year, with further recruitment currently ongoing to meet the increasing client demand in the central belt.  

AAB’s team of indirect tax specialists delivers innovative solutions for clients to help them minimise their VAT liabilities in a tax compliant manner.   In addition to providing VAT compliance and planning services, the team has seen an increase in specialist advisory services across other indirect taxes such as customs duty, excise duty and the various environmental indirect taxes which can impact businesses on a daily basis.  AAB has also successfully assisted several clients with indirect tax investigations and dispute resolution cases with HMRC.

To address a particular risk area for the Energy sector, a bespoke ‘VAT Place of Supply’ Tool was developed to assist businesses in determining the appropriate VAT treatment.  This is an area that is drawing increasing interest from HMRC and which is becoming even more complex as the industry diversifies into Renewables and other green energy solutions. 

Alistair Duncan, Director and Head of Indirect Taxes at AAB commented “The revenue growth we have achieved has been driven purely based on client demand as businesses recognise that this area of tax is becoming increasingly complex. Badged as the “simple tax” when it was introduced, VAT, along with the other indirect taxes, are no longer a simple matter and clients require specialist support to suit their individual needs. 

This increasing demand has been met thanks to our dedicated, highly experienced team. Collectively, we have a broad range of specialist skills as a result of working in practice, HMRC and private industry.  We are delighted to be adding to this with the recruitment of an experienced Indirect Tax Manager which is currently underway.”

With significant changes to indirect taxes due next year, Mr Duncan expects another year of strong financial performance from the Indirect Tax team.  2021 will see the delayed changes to Making Tax Digital and the domestic reverse charge for construction services coming into effect.  More specifically, the end of the Brexit transition period in December will see businesses requiring greater support to meet their VAT and customs reporting obligations. 

Mr Duncan continues “Brexit poses a number of challenges to UK businesses wishing to trade with the rest of the EU, and EU businesses looking to trade in the UK. The complexities surrounding areas such as the movement of goods, import and export procedures and the supply of services should be on the radar of these businesses. They must ensure that they have taken all available steps to be prepared, some of which can be taken now.”

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, has reported one of its biggest growth years on record for their Audit services.

Over the last year, new business wins total £800,000 from around 30 new clients, with 30% of these new wins have being secured in the last 6 months, when the entire team at AAB were working from home, continuing to deliver for clients across the Central Belt and the North East of Scotland.

Before lockdown, there was a clear shift in the market where businesses of all sizes, operating both domestically and internationally were looking for alternatives to global audit firms to ensure their service expectations were met. The coronavirus outbreak does not appear to have had an impact on this mindset.

With restrictions in place making the traditional audit client interaction impossible, businesses needed their auditors to be quick thinking, technology driven and focused on putting client service first.

AAB Partner and Head of Audit, James Pirrie, commented: “Before lockdown, the Audit team had been exceptionally busy and even as lockdown measures were put in place we demonstrated that, to the maximum extent possible, it was ‘business as usual’ in the AAB Audit department. We’ve had fantastic feedback from clients over this year, and I am so proud of the team for always working with an open mind, supporting each other and putting the client first.

The clients who have come onboard this year operate in a variety of sectors and are based right across Scotland, with many having overseas subsidiaries or parent companies. If we were to pick a positive from this challenging time, it is that we are more prepared than ever to tackle complex, audits in any location.

Throughout the next year and beyond, myself and the team look forward to continually exceeding our client’s expectations of our service while also continuing our growth across our key sectors and multiple locations.”

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading independent firms of chartered accountants and business advisors, is building on the support it already provides to family businesses by establishing a specialist team dedicated to the sector.

AAB currently works with over 1,000 family businesses, which totals 75% of the firm’s SME client base. This dedicated team has been formed to support AAB’s significant client base with a central hub of knowledge and experience of the complex financial and business advisory needs of families, both business and personal.

The team will be headed up by the firm’s Edinburgh Managing Partner Lyn Calder, who will be supported by a team of nine specialists from across the firm including Tax Directors Lynn Wilson and Stuart Petrie, who are based in Aberdeen.

Lyn Calder commented “At AAB our very first client was a family business and for over 30 years we have continued to work with family businesses across multiple sectors ranging from fishing to oil and gas, and from hospitality to construction and property. As a result, we have extensive knowledge and experience in this space across the firm.

Recognising that family businesses are unique, and that they require a considered approach, coupled with a different way of thinking, we are delighted to have established our core family business team. This central resource will ensure that our clients continue to receive a first-class service, aiding day-to-day operations in addition to potential future growth, which goes above and beyond core business compliance. Ultimately our role is to use our experience to add value to their businesses and ensure they succeed and prosper.”

AAB is also a proud member of Family Business United, a voice for the global family business community and an invaluable source of insight into the sector.

Family businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. According to the Institute for Family Business, there are around 5 million family firms in the UK employing around 13 million people. They comprise 85 per cent of all the private sector firms in the UK and contribute 42 per cent of the sector’s annual turnover and 28 per cent of UK GDP.