Lincoln’s Streets Chartered Accountants, a top 40 UK professional service firm, has established Streets Spenser Wilson Chartered Accountants.
The announcement follows the merger of the Halifax firm, Spenser Wilson with the fast-growing multi regional practice, Streets Chartered Accountants. This latest merger is one of more than five completed by Streets in the last six months and has seen the practice grow, now with more than 27 offices and fee income over £39 million.
When asked about the merger, Chris Yewdall, Partner at Spenser Wilson Chartered Accountants, said: “Myself and fellow Partners Andrea Kennedy, Liz Short and Sally Shacklock are delighted to announce our merger with Streets and excited about the future for our team and our clients as we move forwards as part of the wider Streets team.
“The firm was founded in 1919 and over the years has grown into one of the leading accountancy firms in the town and wider region thanks to our strong reputation and excellent partner led service.
“As with any business we cannot stand still and to move Spenser Wilson forward and provide our clients with a greater level of service we looked for some time to find a perfect partner to support us and one with whom we share mutual values.
“We chose Streets because of the shared philosophy of providing a valuable, personal, and partner led service for clients covering all areas of expertise. In addition, we wished to retain some independence and investment in the existing business, providing for the continued longevity of the practice for our clients, our team and the town of Halifax.
“Now that Spenser Wilson is part of a larger practice, we can confidently promise greater continuity of service to our clients and improved career prospects for our team, as well as our ability to attract new recruits.
“We also believe that our clients, existing and new, will benefit in that the combined firm will be able to offer a wider range of services, some of which we previously sourced externally.
“These include specialist corporate and private client tax planning, banking and finance, grants, R&D tax reliefs, international advice and personal financial planning. Being able to offer this breadth of service all under ‘one roof’ means we can provide greater value for our clients.
“The merger should enhance our position in Halifax and beyond Calderdale and into West Yorkshire and help to form a strong Northern presence within Streets coupled with the existing Wakefield, Hull, Preston and Burnley offices along with any other firms joining us in the future.”
Looking at what the merger means to Streets, the firm’s Managing Partner, Paul Tutin, said: “In line with our strategy to become a truly UK practice we are looking at and working with a number of firms looking to become part of Streets.
“The merger of Spenser Wilson Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers is the latest in line with our plans to expand our geographical coverage and provides us a stronger presence across Yorkshire, following the recent merger of the Wakefield practice of Andrew Wright & Co and our long-standing office in Hull.
“We are really looking forward to working with Chris, Liz, Andrea and Sally to grow the practice and to further establish it as a pre-eminent accountancy, business and tax advisory firm servicing the needs of businesses and individuals across Yorkshire.
“Looking ahead with a number of further mergers and acquisitions in the pipeline, which include a number of practices across the UK, we are on track to achieve our target revenue of £40m by the end of the year.
“The profession is going through significant consolidation with heightened levels of merger and acquisition. In contrast to many, our approach seeks to build on the success of merging firms, ensuring we retain and build on their winning approach – an approach we believe is particularly liked by many of those looking to exit routes, the challenge of growing their practice or facing increased competition and the need to widen their service offering.”
Streets Law, the firm’s dedicated corporate and commercial law offering led by Managing Director and Solicitor, Adam Aisthorpe, undertook the legal work on behalf of Streets for the merger, including drafting the sale and purchase agreement and dealing with the due diligence process in collaboration with internal colleagues in the tax and audit teams at Streets.
