Baldwins accountants is continuing on the acquisition trail and expanding its regional footprint by moving into the north west for the first time via a deal with CLB Coopers, which has offices in Manchester, Lancaster and Bolton
The firm will continue to trade as CLB Coopers and will retain the three regional offices. All of the existing 12 partners and 100 members of staff will stay in the business and will continue to manage the firm, which has reported fee income of £8.5m for 2015/16.
David J Travis, managing partner of CLB Coopers, who also led on the transaction, said: ‘This opportunity with the Baldwins group provides us with greater national coverage and significantly enhances the resources we will have available to us to service our clients.
The last 12 months has seen Baldwins grow from 16 to 32 offices across the country as part of its national strategic expansion plan, employing over 800 staff with an annual turnover of circa £40m, according to the firm's estimated fee income under the expanded operation.
John Baldwin, director at Baldwins, said: ‘We are excited that CLB Coopers has joined the Baldwins group. The firm has a very strong and respected brand across the north west and offers a full suite of services to its clients.
‘This year has been an incredible one for us at Baldwins. We have doubled the number of offices, expanded into two new regions and developed new services.’
Baldwin also indicated the firm plans further acquisitions in 2017. In October, Cogital Group, which was founded this summer by ex-Deloitte UK chief executive John Connolly and is backed by private equity group HgCapital, made an investment in the firm.
