Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, has secured Aberdeen-based UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) inspection company Air Control Entech (ACE) a significant investment to support the future growth of the company.

ACE, founded by Managing Director Kieran Hope in 2016, was established to revolutionise the way inspection work is carried out. Through his experience of the offshore inspection market, Kieran identified that off the shelf UAV’s were not fit for purpose in the often harsh offshore environment where safety is critical. Kieran founded ACE to engineer and commercialise a range of UAV’s equipped and tested for high performance and safety in the tough conditions of the North Sea.

ACE has developed their state of the art UAV fleet supported by the Oil & Gas Technology Centre, which has provided project and field trial funding as well as access to operating and inspection companies. ACE has now successfully designed, manufactured, tested and commercialised three UAV models with different capabilities to meet customer requirements. Further models are currently in development.

Brian McMurray and Michael Edwards of AAB’s Corporate Finance team worked with Kieran and the team at ACE to deliver fundraising advice, introduce potential investors and ultimately secure the desired investment. The investment will be used to increase the company’s fleet of UAV’s to meet customer demand as well as enhancing manufacturing capabilities at the newly refurbished premises located in Bridge of Don.

Brian McMurray, Head of Equity Finance commented, “We are delighted to have secured the investment needed to accelerate the growth of ACE. Having worked closely with Kieran and his team during this process, we look forward to continuing the relationship and supporting ACE in becoming a leading Scottish UAV business, servicing clients worldwide.”

Kieran added “AAB’s advice and assistance for our first EIS round was critical in securing the relationships and the investment we needed. This investment will enable ACE to continue to scale quickly, and we’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with AAB.”

Pictured from left to right: Kieran Hope (ACE – Managing Director), Brian McMurray (AAB – Head of Equity Funding), Blair Nichols (ACE – Chief Technology Officer)

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, has announced the expansion of its technology advisory offering on the back of growth in its Edinburgh Office, launched earlier this year, and the appointment of Kenny Fraser as Strategic Advisor in the technology sector.

Kenny brings significant consulting, transactional and board experience to AAB having previously been a partner at PWC and for the last 5 years he has been a prominent adviser to technology companies based across the UK. He has worked with a broad range of clients, from early stage companies to large scale global clients, and this experience will be key to his role at AAB where he will be supporting high growth companies.

Kenny’s skills, knowledge and broad range of experience complements the growing technology advisory team at AAB which has seen a particular increase in client demand across the corporate finance, tax, business advisory and consulting arenas. Recent examples include providing technology businesses with the following support & advice: business planning, financial modelling and fund-raising; tax structuring, tax incentives, R&D and patent box claims and VAT advice; cloud accounting, virtual finance function and compliance services and organisation agility and digital transformation consulting.

Key members of the technology advisory team at AAB include Kevin Meaney, Entrepreneurial Tax Partner, Brian McMurray, Head of Equity Funding, Alex Matthews, Digital Director at AAB Consulting, Kenny Fraser, Strategic Adviser in the Technology Sector, Ricky Cowan, Business Development Director and Hilary Dyson, Cloud Accounting Lead at AAB.

Kevin Meaney, also Head of Edinburgh Office at AAB, commented “The reality of the modern world is one of constant change and across the firm we have seen a significant number of client wins in the technology sector. Kenny’s appointment as Strategic Advisor in this space adds a new dimension to our existing capabilities.

The technology sector has become a real focus for us as a firm, most noticeably in the Edinburgh market where there is a real vibrancy. The sector never stands still and neither do the businesses within it meaning that support is required to navigate through the challenges and exploit the opportunities which it presents. Our team understand the needs of businesses today and what is required to grow by offering quick, responsive advice, whatever stage they are at.”

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, have announced that they will be a corporate sponsor of Social Bite’s event, Sleep in the Park, a nationwide sleep out aimed at ending homelessness in Scotland for good.

This year’s event is taking place in four cities – Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen – on Saturday 8th December.

Last year 8,000 people joined in with the world’s largest sleep out in Edinburgh to raise £4 million and call for an end to homelessness in Scotland. This has funded a raft of major projects including a program for 800 rough sleepers to be brought off the streets into mainstream housing.

Now Social Bite want to keep up the momentum and help build a movement to eradicate homelessness in Scotland. The target this year is for 12,000 people to sleep out in the cold. We will be joined by some of Scotland’s biggest artists, including Amy MacDonald, KT Tunstall and Eddie Reader who will entertain us before the lights go out.

Trainspotting author, Irvine Welsh and Dons Manager Derek McInnes will be doing a bed time story.

AAB have a team of 18 volunteers who are going to be raising money and spending the night in Aberdeen’s Duthie Park. John Black, Partner in firm’s Audit Department organised AABs sponsorship of the event and said “Homelessness is something our team are fortunate enough not to experience, but we cannot ignore that it exists, it is both devastating and dangerous for those who find themselves in that situation. We are delighted to participate in this great initiative to tackle homelessness and thank everyone who supports us with a donation”

We really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations. https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=aab-llp-&isTeam=true

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, has announced significant growth within its global payroll team as a result of a number of new client wins. These new wins have seen a 50% increase in turnover, for that service, to £2.25million during the last year. As a result of this demand, the firm has added to their global payroll team, which is now some 20 people strong, through a number of key appointments including Katie Lange and Simon Porter who each have extensive global payroll experience alongside Director David Purse, who joined the team back in August.

AAB’s global payroll offering assists businesses operating in different locations around the globe to streamline and integrate their payroll operations in a cost effective and efficient way. Through the firm’s team, associate networks and contacts across the world, the service spans over 90 countries, providing payroll solutions in every continent to ensure that clients are compliant in each country where they operate.

Payroll has been a key service of AAB for nearly a decade, and during this time the firm has adapted to the changing needs of their clients which has resulted in the dedicated global payroll offering supporting their clients expanding operations across the world. The service integrates well with the other global services offered by AAB including global tax and global mobility. The firm have developed a unique global tracking software solution, which utilises interactive dashboard technology on a real time basis. This software can be integrated with the payroll process, meaning that clients can be given regular and transparent views of their operations across the world on a real time basis.

Commenting on this growth, Steven Fraser, Partner and Head of Payroll & Employment Taxes at AAB said “the growth we have achieved in our team has been driven purely based on client demand as globalising operations has become a key focus area for them as they look to become more responsive to their company’s growing needs. Global Payroll is one of the service areas that is driving today’s business transformations, and has become an increasingly popular opportunity to uniform and standardise processes across all regions that a business is operating in. Clients tell us that their key challenges in this area are around service level, cost, time, visibility, risk and compliance, as well as a lack of an international payment solution and so we work with them to develop a global payroll model which is tailored to suit their individual needs.

By providing a streamlined approach, we help clients overcome any disjointed processes and ensure that all potential compliance issues are addressed across as many countries as they need. We have seen demand for this service from both clients who are looking for successful international expansions, as well as those who are already operating on an international scale, but want to develop a more efficient, compliant payroll system for both their domestic and international needs.

It is encouraging to see the demand for our services increasing and that it is not only having a positive impact on our firm from a financial perspective, but that we are also attracting top talent in this space to join our growing team in Aberdeen, London and Edinburgh offices, as a result.”

AAB’s new Global Payroll team members from left to right; Simon Porter, David Purse and Katie Lange with Partner Steven Fraser.

Eleven Highland entrepreneurs have been selected to take part in a new business growth programme to drive their businesses forward to the next stage.

IMPACT30 is a 12-month fully funded business growth programme organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s (HIE) Northern Innovation Hub in partnership with consultancy business Anderson Anderson and Brown (AAB).

The programme aims to support the next generation of entrepreneurs by providing mentoring support and tapping into industry leaders’ expertise. It has been co-designed by young entrepreneurs to meet their unique needs.

People under 35 in a key decision-making role within young ambitious businesses of less than three years old are eligible to take part in IMPACT30. It has been formulated to develop the new generation of talent by taking an agile approach to building and delivering their growth plans.

Applicants created a short video pitching themselves, their business and what they would like to take away from the programme. The winners were selected by a panel from the IMPACT30 coaching team, HIE, and AAB.

The successful entrepreneurs hail from a variety of backgrounds and industries, including the food and drink and property sectors. The programme will begin on November 12.

Felix Spittal, senior project manager at HIE, said: “We have been impressed by the drive, innovation, commitment and determination from the diverse range of applicants, all of whom exemplified the type of business acumen that will benefit from the high-quality support IMPACT30 offers.

He continued: “This programme will allow the entrepreneurs to remain in their locations whilst receiving tailored guidance and support from Anderson Anderson & Brown, coaches, mentors, and peers throughout.

“I’m looking forward to watching these young entrepreneurs grow over the next 12 months and beyond.”

Claire Smith, consultant at Anderson Anderson and Brown said: “The successful candidates clearly articulated their business growth plans and objectives for IMPACT 30 and creatively used their video applications to give the panel insight into their venture. We can’t wait to kick off the programme next month and look forward to working closely with the young and exciting businesses to achieve their growth ambitions.”

Applications for the next round of IMPACT30 will open early in 2019.

The Northern Innovation Hub, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, is a set of projects in the Highland Council area seeking to support the biggest opportunities for the region to create a global competitive advantage.

The projects are targeted at supporting the long-term growth of small and emerging enterprises in sectors including life sciences, tourism, food and drink and the creative industries.

It was awarded £11m by the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, along with £3m from the European Regional Development Fund and £2m from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

To find out more about Northern Innovation Hub and to apply for future cohorts for IMPACT 30 visit nih.hie.co.uk.

A dynamic new programme for young entrepreneurs has been launched by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to discover and support the business leaders of the future.

IMPACT30 has been designed to uncover a new generation of ambitious talent, offering bespoke support from industry experts to help drive the growth of their businesses.

The 12-month fully funded business growth programme, part of HIE’s Northern Innovation Hub and a collaboration with leading consultancy firm Anderson Anderson and Brown Consulting Limited (AAB), is open to new and existing entrepreneurs across the Highland region.

Felix Spittal, senior project manager at HIE, said: “IMPACT30 is an exciting opportunity for ambitious young entrepreneurs who want to unlock their ideas and encourage positive change and growth.

“We want the project to annually develop 30 business leaders of the future from across the Highlands, help them overcome existing challenges, inspire plans, and put in place the foundations of support that will help them thrive.

“The expertise and experience Anderson Anderson and Brown Consulting Limited and their network of collaborators bring to the IMPACT30 programme is an invaluable resource and will drive the businesses forward.”

Anyone under the age of 35 who has been working in a business less than three years old can apply to be part of the IMPACT30 programme.

The Programme will deliver relevant and innovative support which has been carefully customised to ensure applicants feel challenged, supported, and inspired to make the most of the opportunity and build successful businesses.

Mark Bell, Director of Economic Development at Anderson Anderson and Brown Consulting Limited said: “Supporting exciting, ambitious, growth oriented businesses by working in partnership to add value to their business is what we do.

“IMPACT30 is a new approach to business growth programmes, highly personalised and delivered with agility. We expect the businesses we work with to move at pace, be open to challenge and fresh ideas, and share the same levels of ambition we have for them.

“We will support the business leaders of tomorrow to tap into our expertise, understand what’s needed to be a success and benefit from our support to help realise their ambitions.

“A project like this is good not just for the businesses who are part of the collaboration, but also the wider business community who can really see what is possible.”

Impact30 has also been designed to accommodate a broad range of businesses from across the Highlands, by using digital tools to allow its resources to be accessed whenever suits applicants best.

Leading Highlands and Islands entrepreneur James Robertson, who founded Skye Candles in 2006, said: “Building a business is not for the faint hearted, you’ve got to be passionate about what you do, have a good work ethic and got to be constantly willing to learn and adapt your skills.

“Making the most of IMPACT30 will hopefully allow young entrepreneurs to progress their ventures faster, by offering the sort of support that can be invaluable in avoiding costly and time-consuming mistakes.

“I’d definitely encourage young business people from across the Highlands to give it a go and hopefully take their business to the next level.”

The deadline for applications to the programme is Monday 8 October.

The Northern Innovation Hub is a set of projects in the Highland Council area seeking to support the biggest opportunities for the region to create a global competitive advantage.

The projects are targeted at supporting the long-term growth of small and emerging enterprises in sectors including life sciences, tourism, food and drink and the creative industries.

It was awarded £11m by the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, along with £3m from the European Regional Development Fund and £2m from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

 

More information about the programme can be found at nih.hie.co.uk.

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, has expanded its cloud accounting and outsourcing team in the central belt. In response to a significant increase in client demand, AAB have appointed Hilary Dyson as Head of Cloud Accounting and Accounting Outsourcing specialist Mairi MacIver has transferred to the firm’s Edinburgh office.

As a result of this demand, the cloud accounting and outsourcing team has seen a 15% increase in turnover to £2.5million during the last year as more and more businesses look for an alternative solution to streamlining their accounting processes. In addition, the introduction of Making Tax Digital for VAT is changing the way in which VAT Registered businesses have to submit their VAT Returns, meaning that old versions of accounting software may need to be upgraded and manual systems will have to be changed to digital to ensure that they are compliant. The AAB team have been working with clients, both existing and new, to ensure they are MTD compliant ahead of the April 2019 deadline.

Hilary, who is also a qualified chartered accountant, has significant experience of working with accounting software and systems in both owner-managed and larger companies. She joins this growing team which started last year with 21 people based in their Aberdeen office, which has increased to a total number of 32 across both their headquarters in Aberdeen and their recently opened Edinburgh office. Mairi MacIver, who has been with the firm for 14 years is a highly skilled consultative adviser in assisting individuals, partnerships and owner-managed businesses across multiple sectors on matters relating to all aspects of their business.

Kevin Meaney, Partner & Head of Edinburgh Office commented “we are delighted to welcome Hilary to the firm and both her and Mairi to the Edinburgh Office. They both bring a significant amount of experience in the cloud accounting and outsourcing space which will complement and enhance our team in this specialist area, enabling us to provide a first-class service to our clients in the central belt.

This is an area in which we have seen continued growth and foresee this continuing apace with the introduction of legislation like MTD for VAT. Many of our clients in this space have seen MTD for VAT as an opportunity to get the most out of software changes by getting some direct guidance on how best to enhance their systems and make them work for their individual businesses. To assist businesses further, we are hosting an event in conjunction with Xero, BlueHub and iZettle which will demonstrate how to tackle these issues and showcase the benefits of cloud accounting on 9 October at the iZettle Offices in West Port, Edinburgh and on 10 October at our office in Aberdeen. This is an open invitation to any business who is looking for assistance or to gain a better understanding of this area, please visit our Event Brite page to register.”

For the Aberdeen event, please click here.

For the Edinburgh event, please click here.

 

Pictured (from left to right); AAB’s Mairi MacIver, Kevin Meaney and Hilary Dyson.

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the UK’s leading firms of Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors, has this month made a very big thank you to its staff following an incredible amount of time and dedication they have given to the firm’s charity; The Anderson Anderson & Brown Charitable Initiative (AABIE).

AABIE is the platform which facilitates all at AAB to invest in the communities in which they operate by seeking partnerships with charities and inviting applications for donations, grants and volunteer time. The staff of AAB deliver all the volunteer time and raise all the grant funding and thanks to them, in the year and a half AABIE has been operating, the charity has allocated an incredible £100,000 of grant funding to 57 charities and donated over 3,300 volunteer hours.

The £100,000 raised has provided an extremely diverse range of support to different causes including education initiatives ranging from scholarships to safety education trips. Health and wellbeing initiatives also range from ground-breaking research in specialist fields to funding physical rehabilitation equipment, in addition to providing kit for sports groups including golf, football, hockey, rugby, netball, gymnastics, horse riding and rock-climbing. AABIE has also assisted community care groups with funding towards specialist equipment, clothing, dedicated events and group activities, including sponsoring and participating in Peterhead’s Cancer Research Relay for Life and funding equipment and donating volunteering time to renovate the gardens at The Barn in Banchory.

Volunteer time has seen AAB staff gardening across Aberdeen City and Shire, preparing and clearing an area of forest at Easter Anguston Farm, with another team heading out to replant the area and participate in 10 different education and mentoring initiatives. AAB have also hosted multiple afternoon tea events for Contact the Elderly and the Edinburgh office spent a day cleaning up Portobello Beach.

In addition to this, AABIE run monthly charity awareness campaigns which see different causes engage with staff and visitors at their Aberdeen office, showcasing the work they do by displays and presentations.

One of the charities which has benefited from AABIE is Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) Aberdeen. The charity requested funding for a new riding pony and its equipment so that they could increase the number of horse riding lessons they provide to disabled children and adults in Aberdeen. These lessons are offered free of charge and through their new pony, Teddy, RDA Aberdeen has increased their group capacity by 50%.

In addition to Aberdeen RDA, the Paul Lawrie Charitable Foundation has also benefitted from AABIE. The charity requested grant funding for their “Grass Roots” golf programme so that they would expand it to include children from all backgrounds. The programme provides opportunities for juniors of all ages to start playing and enjoying golf at all levels, helping them to understand the etiquette in addition to the skills and techniques.

Karen Stewart, AABIE Trustee, commented “as trustees, we can only decide on the charities we work with because of our staff – it is incredible to see what they have achieved in such as short space of time. A huge thank you goes out to them as without them the work we do through AABIE simply wouldn’t be possible. We are so proud of our team and are grateful of their approach to the work of AABIE.

The funds donated and volunteer hours are quite remarkable but it truly is the feedback we get from charities and their user groups which makes the work that AABIE does really hit home. We are grateful to the wonderful causes for their work and engagement with AABIE and are delighted to build relationships with them and play a small part in their continued success.

We really do care about the communities in which we operate and look forward to working alongside even more fantastic causes as time goes on.”

AABIE is currently inviting applications for donations, grants and volunteer time.

Find out more about AABIE.

Pictured (top photo): Karen Stewart of AABIE (centre) with Muriel Simpson (left) and Rhiannon Fraser of Aberdeen RDA with Teddy

Pictured (bottom photo): Sheena Anderson of AABIE with Fletcher Riach & Riley Reid (right) taking part in the Grass Roots golf programme at the Paul Lawrie Foundation

The firm has announced the appointment of David Purse as a Director in their Payroll & Employment Taxes team, based in their London office.

Having spent his career in the professional services environment, David brings significant experience and a wealth of knowledge to AAB of the London marketplace. He joins the firm from PwC where he led large Global Mobility programs for clients in a variety of sectors including Oil & Gas, Financial Services and Technology, dealing with all their global mobility needs such as; social security, expatriate taxes & policy, international & domestic payroll, reward, global compensation, short term business visitors and assignment costing.

Steven Fraser, Partner and Head of Payroll & Employment Taxes at AAB commented “David is an excellent addition to our senior leadership team at AAB and brings an in-depth knowledge of the London business community which will complement the growth portfolio of AAB clients and contacts in the City. He has extensive expertise in a number of areas but his focus will be on global mobility as we have experienced an increase in demand for this service in London. His appointment will enable us to capitalise on the various opportunities we have in the pipeline whilst also supporting the firms existing client base in and around the city.”

On his appointment, David said “I am very pleased to be joining AAB at what is clearly an exciting time and it is great to be part of a team which is so ambitious. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to build on the success achieved to date, enhance the presence of the firm in London and to continue the focus on growth and expansion.”

David Purse (left) with Steven Fraser, Partner at Anderson Anderson & Brown.

Anderson Anderson & Brown Wealth Ltd (AAB Wealth), one of Scotland’s leading independent financial planning firms, has announced a £100m increase in Assets under Advice (AUA) over the last twelve months, taking the firm’s total AUA over £300m. This, the second consecutive year of increased AUA of around £100m, demonstrates a period of significant, sustained growth.

AAB Wealth specialises in providing an all-round wealth management service, including an integrated tax offering, and attributes this growth to the quality of advice and service it continues to provide to clients, as well as a number of strategic developments across the firm, most notably team expansion and investment in the client offering.

In addition, whilst AAB Wealth continues to grow market share in Aberdeen, it recently announced its arrival in Edinburgh. The move to the capital has enabled the firm to broaden its footprint in the central belt of Scotland and expanding the offering in London is a further growth target.

Earlier this year, Fraser Porter joined Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP, as a Partner, and CEO of AAB Wealth. Fraser brought a broad range of leadership skills to the team in addition to significant experience of both Edinburgh and London markets. The number of client-facing advisors was also enhanced with the appointment of three financial planners across the Aberdeen and Edinburgh offices. Keith Boyes, based in the firm’s Edinburgh office, has recently relocated from Hong Kong, bringing with him international financial planning experience in addition to his experience built in Scotland prior to moving overseas. Andrew Reynolds, also based in Edinburgh, adds a variety of wealth management knowledge to the AAB Wealth team, having worked with both corporate and personal clients throughout his career. Martyn Paterson has extensive experience in financial services gained over 30 years with Bank of Scotland Private Clients. Martyn will be based in the firm’s Aberdeen office.

Fraser Porter commented “we are delighted to welcome Keith, Andrew and Martyn to the team at what is an exciting time with plenty of new opportunities and change being embraced across the firm. Each of them bring a dynamic set of skills and experience which will complement our existing team and enhance our service provision.

The growth achieved in this last year has been incredible and can be attributed in part to a number of our strategic activities including team expansion and broadening of business strategy to cover a wider geographic market. Most importantly though, the growth is really down to client demand. We are focused on providing each client with a first-class service, tailored to individual needs, and to building long term client relationships. A significant number of new introductions have come from our existing client base, which is pleasing and means we must be doing something right!

We look forward, as a team, to building on the success achieved to date and continuing our focus on growth, expansion and enhancing our services to meet clients’ needs.”