By Scott Wright
WYLIE & Bisset, the long-established Scottish accountancy firm, is to provide a range of services to small and medium-sized enterprises around Scotland after striking a deal with a financial solutions business.
The Glasgow-based firm, which can trace its roots back to 1787, has joined forces with Opulus Financial to create a “hub and spoke model” through which it will offer a range of service lines to regional accountancy practices.
Donald McKinnon, managing partner of Wylie & Bisset, will continue in his current role at the firm, and has joined the operating board at Opulus.
Mr McKinnon said: “What we are creating together with Opulus is a hub and spoke model whereby, as full-service accountants and business advisers, we will operate as a hub to provide a range of service lines and support to a network of regional spoke accountancy practices within the wider Opulus group for the benefit of our clients.
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“We remain fully committed to the expansion of our business and, by working alongside Opulus, can see opportunities for economies of scale to be realised through Wylie & Bisset adding value to the Opulus group structure.”
The new partnership will be supported by £10 million growth capital facility which Opulus and Wylie & Bisset have secured from SME Capital, an organisation formed to provide bespoke funding to established SMEs.
Opulus is a joint venture formed between founder Matthew Garstang and investment and advisory partnership N4 Partners to provide a range of financial and operational solutions to help SMEs grow. It has previously completed the acquisitions of Glasgow-based Nicolson Accountancy, John Kerr & Co in Saltcoats, Alexander Marshall in Motherwell and Craig Cleland in East Kilbride.
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Mr Garstang said: “Our joining of forces with such a long-established practice with dedicated staff and an established client base represents a wonderful opportunity for both Opulus and Wylie & Bisset.
“Donald and his team have worked exceptionally hard to grow the practice over recent years, investing heavily in organic growth, together with succession planning for senior staff and a newly launched training academy.
“This is unquestionably a major step forward for the business and will instantly form an integral part of our group, significantly helping us to expand our unique CFO solutions offering far and wide.”
Kenny Hughes of SME Capital said: “Since we first met with Matthew and the teams at Opulus and N4 Partners, we immediately recognised the opportunity they had in front of them to strategically expand its unique hub and spoke offering and take a big next step forward through this key addition of Wylie & Bisset.”
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