AAB Group Announces New Partner Promotions

The rapidly growing AAB Group demonstrates commitment to developing talent with the appointment of two new Partners based in their offices in Aberdeen and Leeds.

Callum Gray who joined AAB in 2007 as a Graduate has most recently held the position of Corporate Finance Director, based in the Aberdeen office. Callum leads the specialist deal origination offering and is well known for initiating opportunities for companies and shareholders across mergers, acquisitions and fundraising projects. Callum has a breadth of experience across industry sectors and has been a key member of the AAB team who have been crowned Top Dealmakers in Scotland for 16 consecutive years.

Joel Topham joined, in 2004 on the Graduate programme and has progressed through the firm to hold the role of Business Advisory Director. Joel heads up the Professional Practice team and is also responsible for leading the Leeds dedicated Family Business support team. Joel develops and runs specialist training for Solicitors and sits on the ICAEW solicitor specialist team.

Graeme Allan, Chief Executive at AAB Group commented: “I am delighted that Callum and Joel have the opportunity to develop their careers further within AAB Group having both joined as Graduates. Both are experts in their respective fields and have repeatedly demonstrated their dedication to awesome client service as well as their commitment to growing the Group across our regional hubs.”

Chris Jones, previous Leeds Managing Partner added: “These promotions recognise the achievements of Callum and Joel while also demonstrating the commitment of the Group to our people. To see long standing team members reach Partner level is truly rewarding and I look forward to working with Joel and Callum to achieve our ambitious growth plans for the months and years ahead.”

The AAB Group now has 50 Partners and employs more than 650 people across 10 locations in the UK and Ireland.

AAB expands HR consultancy with key acquisition

AAB Group expands HR consultancy with acquisition
AAB Group continues to grow strong regional presence across Ireland

AAB, the tech-enabled business critical services group, has today announced a key acquisition to expand the HR consultancy services offered across the group.

Think People Consulting Ltd (now AAB People) is an HR consultancy with an annual revenue of c £1.7million, and a team of 24 people based across Belfast and Dublin.

Established by Anne Dougan and Emer Hinphey in 2006, Think People provides support to clients across a diverse suite of HR services, people development and organisational development. The company has a wide range of clients across both the private and public sector. Both Anne and Emer are remaining with the business to support ambitious growth plans to grow the Think People business as part of the AAB Group.

AAB Group already has a strong track record in this field: Purpose HR joined the group in July 2021, and within 12 months reported the doubling of both turnover and headcount.

Following investment from August Equity, AAB Group has begun building strong regional hubs across the UK and Ireland. In May 2022, FPM an independent audit, accounting, tax and business advisory firm was the first in Ireland to join the group. The addition of Think People is another significant step forward in building AAB’s reputation as a diversified business-critical services group in the region.

Graeme Allan, Chief Executive of AAB, commented: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to expand the range of HR consultancy services that we can deliver for our clients. We are delighted to welcome the fantastic team at Think People to the group, and look forward to developing our HR offering across the UK, Ireland and internationally.”

Anne Dougan and Emer Hinphey, Managing Partners of Think People added: “We are delighted to join the AAB group, as we share strong values with the AAB team and their approach to delivering unparalleled services. We look forward to realising the benefits of the wider group support and range of services, to bring more value to our clients and to help us realise our shared growth plans”.

Feargal McCormack, Head of our Ireland Offices added: “Since joining the AAB Group 4 months ago we have been getting to know the enlarged team and collaborating on some new and exciting projects. We see the addition of Think People to the group as a perfect fit to offer our clients even more services maximising their success. Our shared synergies will ensure our clients and teams will continue to benefit from our Better Together approach.”

Lisa Thomson, CEO of AAB People commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Think People to the AAB Group, and I am very much looking forward to working with our new colleagues in Ireland as we continue to grow and expand our HR and People services and regional presence.”

Following the acquisition, AAB Group will continue to actively pursue its organic and M&A growth plans, looking to strengthen its team with further recruitment across all locations, and identify attractive M&A opportunities which augment the group’s current activities.

Hear from Graeme, Feargal, Anne and Emer.

AAB Group announces Mark Perry as its new Chief People & Integration Officer

AAB, the award-winning tech-enabled business critical service group, announced today that Mark Perry has joined the executive team as Chief People & Integration Officer. Mark joins AAB Group following more than a decade at Accelerate, where he held the position of Executive Director.

Following investment from August Equity in October 2021, AAB Group has grown rapidly, and now is a group with £50m+ revenue operating across 10 office locations.

Mark will lead the strategy for people and integration across the group, which has grown its head count by more than 80% in the past 12 months. AAB Group now employs more than 550 people in offices in Scotland, England and Ireland.

Graeme Allan, Chief Executive at AAB said: “As we continue to grow and evolve the group, it is critical that we attract and retain the best people to support our ambitious growth plans. Creating unmatched opportunities for our people is at the heart of our strategy. Mark brings a wealth of experience in developing high performing teams, and his positive energy will further strengthen our culture, enabling us to provide our clients with unparalleled services. Mark’s vision for the future of the group will be integral to our success, and I look forward to working closely with him to bring this to life.”

Mark Perry, Chief People & Integration Officer at AAB, added: “I am really excited to join the group at a period of such phenomenal growth. We will be creating even more unmatched opportunities for our people across all of our office locations to grow and develop as the group continues to evolve. Our future success will truly be determined by our people, and successful integration goes hand in hand with our teams providing awesome service to each of our clients.”

AAB has been crowned top dealmakers in Scotland for 16 consecutive years, in 2021 completing 56 deals (70% more than any other Scottish firm). Recognised as market leaders in the UK and Ireland, AAB has picked up some of the highest accolades the industry has to offer, and has ranked annually for the past 5 years in the ‘Sunday Times Top-100’ Best Companies to Work For List for People and Culture, and placed #4 Accountancy Firm across the UK in the large category.

AAB group is currently recruiting across the UK and Ireland across a range of service lines for Advisors, Assistant Managers and Managers. To view all the current opportunities, visit our Vacancies page.

AAB announces acquisition of Charlton House

AAB the tech-enabled business critical services group, has announced that it has acquired the customs consultancy firm, Charlton House.

Charlton House provides customs duty advice and compliance services to a wide range of businesses on all aspects of the customs’ supply chain and has a particular emphasis on customs compliance services. The company has a broad mix of customs professionals whose backgrounds range from HMRC to industry and accounting.

Charlton House’s founders, Jon Hicks and Seanna whitmore will remain with the business to support ambitious plans to grow the Charlton House business as part of the AAB Group. The business will be re-branded as AAB with immediate effect and form a key part of AAB’s expanding indirect tax team focused on providing clients with VAT and customs duty services.

With international trade becoming more complex, particularly for UK businesses following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on 1 January 2021, Charlton House is a great strategic fit with the expansion of the AAB Group.

Following investment from August Equity in October 2021, AAB Group has grown rapidly and now employs more than 550 people across 10 office locations. The acquisition of Charlton House, for an undisclosed amount, will expand the specialist services provided by AAB while strengthening the support available to businesses trading internationally.

The acquisition of Charlton House provides the opportunity to provide customs duty services across the AAB Group offices in the UK & Ireland and internationally.

Alistair Duncan, Head of AAB’s Indirect Tax Practice, commented: “The last two years have demonstrated the growing need for customs duty advice. The addition of the Charlton House team will strengthen our existing team, bringing fresh skills and expert knowledge which will enhance our capabilities in the indirect tax space.”

Neil Dinnes, Partner and Head of Corporate & International Tax said: “We have achieved significant growth in our VAT compliance & advisory business in recent years and this acquisition strengthens our overall Indirect Tax proposition by adding the ability to provide more specialist Customs Duty compliance & advisory services to our clients.

“We are delighted to welcome Charlton House to the AAB Group, and we look forward to working together to strengthen our existing service offering to existing and new clients across the UK, Ireland and internationally.”

Jon Hicks, Director Customs Advisory, commented: “We have for some time had ambitious plans to grow the business into the rapidly expanding customs compliance market.  From the outset, AAB demonstrated that they share our vision and following the acquisition we are now well placed to recruit in line with the demand for our specialist skills and services.  AAB also gives us the geographical reach to expand across the European Union and further afield.  We are all very excited to be joining such an energetic and forward-thinking organisation.

Maintaining good customs compliance records allows businesses to avoid punitive penalties and minimise goods held up at the frontier. For more information visit our Customs Duty page.

AAB crowned top dealmakers for 16th consecutive year

AAB, the tech enabled business critical services group, saw one of their most successful years of dealmaking in 2021, being named as the top dealmakers in Scotland for a 16^th 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 from 2005 to 2021. In the latest figures released, the Scottish Business Insider recognised that AAB had successfully completed 56 deals in 2021, an impressive 70% more than any other accountancy firm during the same time period.

M&A highlights for AAB’s corporate finance team in 2021 included supporting Donaldson Group with its acquisitions of both Stewart Milne Timber Systems and Kitchens International, Waldorf Energy’s £330 million acquisition of Cairn Energy’s interests in the Catcher and Kraken’s fields in the North Sea, the sales of Drivercheck to Ebbon-Dacs, Suretec to Telcoswitch and C-SAM to Jonas Software and the investments in isol8 by BGF, Forev by Scottish National Investment Bank and Intebloc by Stena Drilling.

Commenting on the team’s achievements, Douglas Martin, Head of AAB Corporate Finance, said “Securing the position of top accounting dealmakers for 16 consecutive years is a great achievement, and I am incredibly proud of our team. The deal making landscape has seen constantly evolving in recent years but our team have shown tremendous drive, initiative, and ability to initiate and execute deals for our clients.

We are also very grateful to our clients for continuing to put their trust in us to deliver transactions on their behalf, and to our referrers of business, who continue to be excellent supporters of the work that we do for our clients.

AAB has seen significant growth in the last year as we expand into new locations and markets, so we’re really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, including working closely with our new corporate finance colleagues in Ireland.

We have had a great first half of 2022, with a number of significant deals announced including the investment in Subsea Technology & Rentals (STR) by Baird Capital, Inverleith LLP’s majority acquisition of Eden Mill and Seafood Connection’s acquisition of Northcoast Seafoods, and we look forward to a busy second half of 2022 on the back of a very strong deals pipeline.”

Major rebrand recognises heritage and positions AAB for the future

AAB, the tech enabled business critical services group, has announced the launch of its new branding, as it continues to implement bold growth plans. Driven by a desire to provide clarity and consistency as the group continues to grow and innovate, the rebrand will also position AAB for future growth across the UK and Irish business services markets.

The new, streamlined, AAB brand reflects its focus on helping clients manage the critical elements that make their businesses tick – their people and their finances – whilst also providing a brand structure fit for a growing, innovative group. Creating a streamlined brand architecture was also particularly important as AAB continues to seek out new M&A opportunities.

The key brand changes include shortening the full Anderson Anderson & Brown name to ‘AAB’ and rolling out new ‘AAB’ logos across the group to replace the current ‘A2+B’ logos. These changes have been completed across AAB, AAB Wealth, AAB Consulting and John F Daly Associates (now AAB John F Daly).

Hardie Caldwell will trade as AAB from 30 May, 2022, a move which began with its merger with AAB group in June 2021. Other group businesses, including Sagars and FPM, now have stronger links to the AAB group as part of the rebrand, although they will continue to trade under their current names as part of AAB’s strategy to build strong regional hubs across the UK and Ireland. Purpose HR and SeeHearSpeakUp shall also retain their names for their target markets, but now have closer links to the AAB brand going forward.

One of the key themes identified as part of the research for the rebrand project was around people and the team’s approach to partnering with clients, getting under the skin of their businesses (or personal) goals and delivering their services with a genuine passion for helping them succeed.

Accentuating what differentiates AAB, the new brand is focused on the resilience of the human spirit, agility and technology, with the underlying message that across the group the business is dedicated to helping clients achieve their goals.

Commenting on the rebrand, AAB Chief Executive Graeme Allan said: “We are very excited to have reached this milestone as we launch the new AAB brand. The changes are about so much more than simply updating the logo, and the project has been a fantastic opportunity to review, simplify and invest in our brand strategy for AAB, and across our growing group of businesses. We are no longer simply the accountants from Aberdeen, our business spans the UK and Ireland, and supports clients across the globe, with a full suite of business-critical services. Our new brand reflects this significant step forward in our journey.

“We decided early on in this project that whilst we did not want to change our business name, we needed to bring some clarity and consistency here, which is particularly important as we enter new markets. Simplifying to AAB helps us achieve this whilst still recognising where the business began.

“The brand may look different, our business may have grown, and our service capabilities increased, but our people, the fundamental part of our business that makes us different, haven’t changed, and we are all still here to help our clients achieve their goals.”

The AAB rebrand takes effect from 30 May 2022, and will be rolled out across the business website, social media platforms and offices. More information on the rebrand can be found at aab.uk.

AAB appoints new Partner to launch US Tax Practice

Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), the tech enabled business critical services group, has announced the appointment of Doug Michael as Partner and United States (US) Tax Practice Lead, based in the business’ London office.

Doug joins AAB to launch a brand-new US tax service as part of the Payroll & Employment Taxes team, providing individual and employment tax advisory and compliance support to clients with a US footprint.

Having spent his career in professional services, Doug brings a wealth of experience and subject knowledge to AAB. He joins AAB from PwC UK, where he led the US expat tax business, supporting international clients with their globally mobile employees across a variety of industry sectors.

This new service offering sees AAB further enhance its global capabilities, while augmenting the already thriving London business.

David Purse, Partner and Head of Global Mobility at AAB said: “Doug is an excellent addition to our senior leadership team at AAB. Having worked alongside Doug as both a colleague and strategic partner for over 15 years, I am pleased that he has chosen AAB as the destination for the next step in his career. He joins the business at an incredibly exciting time of growth and development, and our London business is no exception. We have experienced an increase in demand for payroll and employment tax services in this location, and Doug’s experience adds a valuable new dimension to our service offering.

“Enhancing our ability to service our clients’ changing needs is a key part of our overall growth strategy at AAB. As such, we are very happy to have Doug join us and lead our new US tax service. He truly brings a personable, ‘best in class’ approach to US compliance and advisory services. I have no doubt that he will take what is already a high performing global team and propel it to another level.”

On his appointment, Doug commented: “I am delighted to be joining AAB at this exciting time in their growth journey. The group’s focus on helping its people and clients achieve their strategic goals, coupled with ambitious plans for the future were a huge attraction for me. I am massively looking forward to working with my new colleagues, building on their successes to date and helping drive this growth.”

On the launch of the new US Tax Practice, Doug added: “The United States is home to one of the most complex tax systems in the world. For international businesses, or for employers with expansion plans, the strategic decision-making process can be overwhelming. Our aim is to support clients with their people related tax considerations, and ensure compliance with the challenging and ever-changing US tax laws.”

AAB announces merger with FPM

AAB announces merger with leading all-Ireland firm FPM

Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), the tech-enabled business critical services group, today announced a merger with FPM, a leading independent accountancy and business advisory firm, building on its regional presence across the UK and Ireland in line with its ambitious growth plans.

FPM is an independent audit, accounting, tax and business advisory firm with revenue of c£9.5m and a team of over 120 people across 5 office locations in Belfast, Balbriggan (Dublin North), Newry, Dungannon and Mallusk. The 9 FPM shareholder directors are all remaining in their current roles and will continue to drive the growth of FPM as part of the AAB Group.

AAB Group has grown rapidly in the last 12 months, following 3 M&A transactions and investment from August Equity in October 2021. FPM’s complementary geographic presence will further enhance the wider AAB Group as a key player in the UK & Irish accountancy and business services markets. This merger with FPM is another major step forward in AAB’s growth journey as it becomes a group with £50M+ revenue and 550+ team members in 10 offices across the UK and Ireland.

Following the merger, AAB shall continue to actively pursue its organic and M&A growth plans, looking to strengthen its team with further recruitment across all locations, and continue to identify attractive M&A opportunities which augment the group’s current activities.

Graeme Allan, Chief Executive at AAB commented “This merger is a very important milestone for the group. With FPM, we gain an impressive team with a great reputation and significant presence. There is a strong cultural fit between our firms, and at the heart of this is a passion for helping team members and clients achieve their goals, which makes us hugely excited about the opportunity this merger presents.”

Managing Director at FPM, Feargal McCormack added “We are delighted to be merging with AAB. The synergies across our teams, service provision and sector specialisms, provide a fantastic platform for exciting future growth. In addition to this, we were attracted to AAB as the group has impressive global connections and experience working with high-growth SME businesses and large corporations internationally. This instantly gives us the capabilities to do even more for our clients, wherever they wish to do business across the world, whilst also providing our teams with enhanced opportunities to progress and develop as part of a larger group.”

Three further leadership promotions at AAB

AAB, the tech enabled business critical services group, has announced three internal director promotions within its leadership team.

Forming a key part of the group’s ambitious growth plans, these promotions follow on from AAB’s announcement of five partner appointments earlier this month.

Graeme Robertson and Chris Thompson have become directors in the business, alongside Martyn Paterson of AAB Wealth.

Graeme, who is based in Aberdeen, specialises in joint venture (JV) and contract audit in the energy sector. He has played a significant role in the development of AAB’s specialist JV and contact audit business, John F Daly Associates. As Director, he will continue to drive the growth of this division, supporting clients across the globe.

With a wealth of experience in the corporate finance arena, Chris is a key member of AAB’s growing deals team. Working across the Glasgow and Edinburgh offices, Chris has contributed significantly to AAB’s recent deal successes, including supporting clients such as Donaldson Group and Puma Private Equity on several transactions in recent years.

Chartered Financial Planner Martyn joined AAB Wealth in 2018, and since then has contributed extensively to the growth of the business in Aberdeen. Martyn is dedicated to providing clients with confidence in their financial future through understanding their needs, and working with them to develop, implement and manage a financial planning strategy that reflects their individual circumstances, both now and in the future.

Graeme Allan, Chief Executive at AAB, commented: “These promotions are thoroughly well deserved, and recognise the skill, expertise and contributions of each individual. I am delighted to welcome them to the leadership team where they bring valuable experience from some very specialist areas, and different locations, across the group.

“In addition to demonstrating the commitment to our ambitious growth plans, this most recent investment in our leadership team will enable us to meet our clients’ diverse needs across a rapidly changing professional services market, both in the UK and globally.”

AAB strengthens leadership team with five Partner appointments

AAB, the tech enabled business critical services group, has strengthened its leadership team across the UK with five new partners as part of the group’s ambitious growth plans.

Four of the new appointments are internal promotions with Alasdair Green, Lauren McIlroy, Katy Christiansen, located in Aberdeen, and James Hunt, based in Leeds, becoming partners from 1 April 2022. In addition, Paula Fraser joined the group as tax partner in the Edinburgh office.

Alasdair leads AAB’s Energy Team, working with a range of clients on a variety of areas including strategic planning, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), fundraising and consulting. He works closely with all the business units across the AAB group and is involved in key internal corporate development initiatives across the business. He also leads environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities for the group.

Lauren heads up the Virtual Finance Function (VFF) team at AAB. VFF is a bespoke financial solution which ranges from providing seamless support to internal finance teams, to delivering the entire finance function. AAB is at the forefront of this approach, which harnesses technology and cloud accounting, to empower businesses to be agile and responsive.

Katy leads AAB’s UK and Global Payroll offering. Katy and her team are dedicated to helping businesses navigate the increasingly complex requirements of payroll, both nationally and internationally, whilst working with them to streamline and integrate their operations in a cost- effective and efficient way.

James is a key leadership team member in Leeds, and in the business advisory and VFF team. He is experienced in leading audits for a variety of different businesses, ranging from law firms and manufacturing companies to larger international groups. He also heads up the industrial sector team.

Paula has significant experience of working with high-net-worth families, private clients and entrepreneurs, having held senior positions in Big Four and mid-tier firms over the last 25 years. She specialises in providing a holistic advisory service dedicated to protecting and maximising personal and family wealth.

Graeme Allan, AAB Chief Executive commented “The constant drive and focus on building and investing in our team is a fundamental part of our culture. These partner appointments not only demonstrate the depth of talent being developed across the group, but also our ability to attract top talent to our business.

“It is fantastic to recognise the contributions of Alasdair, Lauren, Katy and James with these promotions, all of which are richly deserved. We are also delighted to welcome Paula, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the group.

“Each of our new partners will play a key role in developing their own areas of expertise, as well as supporting the delivery of the group’s growth strategy. As a leadership team, we will continue to develop our portfolio of tech-enabled services to meet the changing needs of our clients across the UK and globally.”