JOHNSTON Carmichael, Scotland's largest independent firm of chartered accountants, yesterday unveiled an 8 per cent rise in turnover in the year to the end of May as it revealed it is on the lookout for further acquisitions.
The Aberdeen-based firm, which has 11 offices across Scotland, reported that fee income rose to £24.5 million in the year to the end of May.
Chief executive Sandy Manson said that the central belt – where the firm recently merged its Edinburgh o
ffice with rival Duncan Young – was Johnston Carmichael's main focus area for growth.
The central belt offices now account for around a quarter of turnover, which Manson said was "quite an achievement".
Johnston Carmichael, which opened its Edinburgh office seven years ago and its Glasgow base a year later, said income from the two offices rose by an average of 28 per cent to £5.6m – with Glasgow performing particularly strongly, reporting a 70 per cent rise in turnover.
But Manson yesterday warned that conditions were "challenging", adding that turnover had taken a hit at the firm's financial services business.
"It is tough out there," he said. "In terms of the year ahead, we will have to see how the market develops. It is very uncertain.
"However, we are seeing some good growth in our core business of audit and tax. Business recovery has developed in the current market, but we are taking a long-term approach on the markets in which we want to invest."
Manson added that the firm's debt advisory service was doing well.
He explained that he expected the firm's next acquisition to be in Scotland, but refused to rule out a move south of the Border.
Manson commented: "There is a lot of potential in the central belt. We will focus on Scotland, as we feel there is an awful lot of unfinished business in terms of potential opportunities. I think there will be quite a lot of opportunities out there as firms start to question their succession plans.
"We're open to talking to any firms which we think might be a good fit for us."
Manson added that the firm, which specialises in working with small, private businesses, was looking for an acquisition with a niche market.
He said: "We have focused on building our expertise in areas such as the food industry and science and technology – any firm which has a niche, either in those fields or something else, would be appealing to us."
Headcount grew from 385 to 417 – partly as a result of the merger with Duncan Young – while the number of partners increases from 38 to 45.
The full article contains 445 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
