UK accountancy firm with 128 partners eyes further mergers after push into Scotland

Accountancy heavyweight MHA has pushed into Scotland after sealing a deal billed as a merger with Aberdeen-based Meston Reid & Co.

From left: Mark Brown, Michael Reid, Alan Stewart, Rakesh Shaunak, managing partner and chairman of MHA, and William Anderson, pictured at Carden Place, Aberdeen.

The move also marks the third deal that MHA, the UK network member of Baker Tilly International, has agreed this year following mergers with two firms in Wales. MHA now has 20 offices across the UK and bosses said they were eyeing further mergers in Scotland as part of the firm’s expansion strategy.

Meston Reid & Co provides a full range of accountancy and business advisory services for clients primarily in the north-east of Scotland. Under the deal, all 29 staff and five partners at Meston - Michael Reid, Mark Brown, William Anderson, Alan Stewart and Martin Cheyne - will stay with the firm. The practice is said to have strong expertise in tax, audit, insolvency, corporate finance, business advisory, payroll and landed estates. It has a diverse client base, spanning small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to larger companies across various sectors, including energy.

Reid, managing partner at Meston Reid & Co, said: “To continue to provide an ever progressive and evolving level of service to our clients in terms of range, scope and reach, we felt it was time to partner with a larger and equally ambitious organisation. By merging with MHA, we can expand our offering to clients by accessing their specialists within the Baker Tilly International network.”

Meston Reid & Co, which was established in 1990, said its Carden Place office would now come under the MHA banner. MHA, ranked as the 13th largest accountancy group in the UK, has 128 partners and more than 1,400 staff across the UK.

Rakesh Shaunak, managing partner and chairman of MHA, said: “Meston Reid & Co is a significant merger for MHA, enabling us to continue expanding and investing within a thriving business community in a region which has great synergies with MHA’s growth sectors. This strategic merger will enable Meston Reid’s clients to access a new range of specialists and an enhanced national and international offering, while still retaining a highly personal local service. In addition, this merger opens up new avenues for professional development for both the partners and staff in Aberdeen.”

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