East Midlands accountancy, business advice and wealth management business Duncan & Toplis is accelerating its growth plans through external investment from private equity firm Blixt Group.
Blixt is a pan-European private equity firm headquartered in London, with access to over €250 million of committed long-term institutional investor funding. An experienced investor in professional services, Blixt is committed to the UK accounting, wealth management and legal services sectors. Blixt focuses on growth-oriented businesses, helping its partners to build leading businesses.
At the heart of the Duncan & Toplis growth strategy is the continued investment in its team, the expansion of its service proposition and the leveraging of technology to unlock new opportunities for the business’s team members, clients and communities. This will be complemented by acquisitive growth.
Adrian Reynolds, MD at Duncan & Toplis, said: “The core of our culture is based on doing right by our people, our communities and our clients and this will remain so.
“Over almost a century, Duncan & Toplis has been a trusted partner to generations of people, businesses and communities and we’re always working to have a greater positive impact. Our new growth strategy will start the next 100 years as we mean to go on, accelerating our progress and protecting that which makes our business special, while taking it to the next level.
“Blixt is an ideal partner for us because they share our focus on culture and growth for the right reasons. They also bring incredible expertise in strategic thinking, supporting us in the direction we want to travel in, helping us further along the path and accelerating our progress.
“Fundamentally, their support means that in the next few years, we can achieve what we would have hoped to achieve in 10+ years, and that’s very exciting.”
Carl Harring, CEO at Blixt, said: “We have been impressed by the quality, track record and ambition of Duncan & Toplis, and its exemplary commitment to both its people and its clients. We really look forward to partnering with the team at Duncan & Toplis and other like-minded accounting firms to help accelerate growth.”
Duncan & Toplis group was founded in 1925 in Nottingham before it relocated to Grantham and expanded across the East Midlands. It provides businesses and individuals with a range of services including accountancy, audit and assurance, tax and business advice, wealth management, legal services, payroll, marketing, HR, and international business services.
All Duncan & Toplis board members, directors and team members will remain in their existing roles, with Adrian Reynolds continuing as Managing Director of Duncan & Toplis and Andy Severn as Managing Director of wealth management business Castlegate which is part of the Duncan & Toplis group.
The agreement with Blixt is subject to regulatory approvals and is due to complete in Autumn 2023. Once approved, this investment will commence the most ambitious period of growth and expansion in the nearly 100 year history of Duncan & Toplis.