Accountants Johnston Carmichael swoop on trio for renewables

Mid-tier accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael is targeting infrastructure and renewables as a key growth sector after poaching a trio from ­larger rival RSM.

Mark Stewart will head up the new group at JC. Picture: Contributed

Corporate finance partner Mark Stewart will head up the unit which has previously grown organically out of Johnston Carmichael’s agricultural sector presence.

He is joined by associate director Jamie Davidson, who like Stewart has been at RSM for the past 11 years, and corporate finance executive Mark Conetta, who joined RSM seven years ago.

The trio will be based in the Edinburgh and Glasgow offices of Johnston Carmichael, which reported a 7.6 per cent rise in turnover to £39.6 million in its latest financial year.

Chief executive Sandy Manson said a beefed-up team of eight will operate in what is expected to be one of the top three growth areas for the firm over the next two years.

Manson said: “While Johnston Carmichael has always naturally had clients in these sectors, over the last five years or so we have seen real momentum – particularly in renewables.

“Leading sectors for us are agriculture – with over 1,700 clients – and landed estates, and in recent years we have seen many of these landowners coming to us for advice in connection with renewable projects such as wind turbines or hydro.

“With the recent new appointments to our infrastructure and renewables team, and the expertise they bring, we will bolster our offering and continue to build on this solid foundation.”