JOHNSTON Carmichael has revealed plans for the further expansion of its Glasgow office as the accountancy firm reported continuing growth across its core business lines – despite ongoing Brexit uncertainty.
The firm, which has 11 offices across Scotland, has launched a recruitment drive for more senior staff to deal with its increasing workload, having already expanded its Glasgow headcount by 25 per cent in its previous financial year.
Johnston Carmichael, whose traditional heartland is in the north of Scotland, now employs 85 staff in its West George Street office. Recent hires have seen Keith Macpherson and James Hamilton join the firm as audit directors from ‘big four’ accountancy firm EY, and Campbell Cummings, formerly head of corporate development at Weir Group, arrive as a director in the corporate finance team.
Now Johnston Carmichael is looking to draft in up to 10 further senior personnel in key functions such as audit, business advisory and tax. The hires will be over and above the firm’s graduate recruitment programme, which will see it bring on a further seven or eight graduates this summer – adding to the 24 already on the scheme.
The recruitment drive comes after the Glasgow office saw a 16 per cent growth in fee income in the year ended May 31, with the firm noting growth has been maintained at a similar rate in its current year. It did not provide specific figures on its fee income.
Mark Houston, managing partner of Johnston Carmichael in Glasgow, said: “Effectively, we are seeing good growth across all the business lines within Johnston Carmichael, particularly business advisory, tax, audit and restructuring which have all seen quite significant growth. In terms of macroeconomic position, it is hard for me to comment. But in terms of what we are seeing on the ground, there’s certainly no shortage of new client opportunities.”
While recent weeks have seen several business failures in Scotland, Mr Houston said the firm has not observed a general upturn in insolvencies. But he said Johnston Carmichael has been picking up more work in this area.
Mr Houston said: “We took on Graeme Bain as a director in our restructuring practice a couple of years ago. That was an investment in the central belt, so we strengthened our team. When you bring people in work tends to follow.”
On Brexit, Mr Houston acknowledged the uncertainty is sparking regular dialogue with clients which operate overseas on issues such as customs duties, tariffs and trading with Europe.
However, in the absence of a withdrawal agreement, he said providing advice is currently difficult.
The firm has strengthened its “indirect” tax team so it can advise clients when the details of the withdrawal are known. Asked if clients were worried, Mr Houston said: “I’m certainly not seeing any panic. People just want to get some certainty.”
One area where Brexit has reared its head is in commercial property, where a “Brexit-type discount” is being factored into talks around deals.
“That is the one area where I have seen it impact a little bit,” Mr Houston said. “Whether it has actually manifested itself in reduced investment or not, I’m not sure.”
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