Campbell Dallas, which is ranked 52nd in Accountancy’s Top 75 league table, has offices in Glasgow, Perth, Kilmarnock, Stirling and Aberdeen, employs 260 staff and has an annual revenue of £16.5m, is to become part of the expanding group. In the last Top 75, reported income from Campbell Dallas was £12.0m for year end 30 May 2016.

There will be no change to Campbell Dallas in terms of branding and it will retain all its Scotland offices and continue to operate under the Campbell Dallas name, as part of the Baldwins Group.

Current managing partner Chris Horn will lead the recently incorporated Campbell Dallas, which has converted from a limited liability partnership (LLP) to an incorporated company as of October 2016, and all current partners have become directors of the company.

Chris Horn, managing partner at Campbell Dallas said: 'There is competition across the market from the Big Four to smaller accounting firms and one-man bands. We have a strong client base across Scotland and iScotland is a vibrant accounting market. Having access to new technology and services through the merger with Baldwins will enable us to streamline our services delivery and concentrate our time on supporting our clients and helping them grow their busineses.' 

Baldwins has also acquired Edinburgh-based accountants Springfords which has offices in Livingston and Falkirk. The three offices have 40 staff and claims an annual fee income of £2.7m.

These latest acquisitions increase Baldwins’ total number of offices to 53 across the UK, employing over 1,500 staff.

Baldwins is funded by venture capital Cogital Group and it is still keen to make future acquistions. 'Historically we were originally a Midlands business, but now we are probably equally across the northeast, northwest and southwest, and now this is our first move into Scotland,' said Sean Knight, director at Baldwins.

'We're successfully expanded over the last few years, looking for businesses with the similar ethos. Campbell Dallas has done the same and themselves have made acquisitions.

'We don't just want to deliver pure compliance services, for entrepreneurs and businesses we need to be able to offer much more beyond compliance. We see ourselves as offering local delivery with national support. 

Campbell Dallas has a wide range of clients from individuals and family-run businesses to larger corporates in all sectors including automotive, healthcare, brewing and distilling, rural, and food and beverages.

Horne added: ‘This acquisition is a natural fit for the two businesses. Campbell Dallas is one of the fastest growing businesses in Scotland and this is a great opportunity to accelerate our position in the Scottish market.'

David Baldwin, a director at Baldwins, said: ‘Joining forces with Campbell Dallas and Springfords will lead to further growth for both businesses. It is very exciting for Baldwins to have offices in Scotland for the first time and we are looking to add further practices to our group. These two deals represent a major step forward for the group.’

Patricia Reekie, partner at Springfords said: ‘This is a great opportunity to grow the business in Scotland, and will enhance the resources we have available to assist and support our clients across a variety of sectors and areas of expertise.’

John Connolly, executive chairman of CogitalGroup said: ‘Since the launch of CogitalGroup in December last year the group has been growing rapidly and following these latest acquisitions in our Baldwins division, we will have over 4,600 people operating from 137 offices in seven countries. I am delighted to welcome 300 new people to our team.’

Another accounting firm owned by the over-arching Cogital Group is London-based Blick Rothenberg with fee income of £20m. In addtition, Azets, the former BPO division of Visma, which specialises in business process outsourcing for accounting, payroll and HR services, primarily in the Nordic region, is also part of Cogital. BPO reported income of NOK 2.1 bn (£20m) in the 12 months to June 2016. CogitalGroup is backed by venture financiers HgCapital and led by Connolly, former managing partner of Deloitte.

The Cogital Group has annual turnover of £75m and employs more than 1,250 people, although a third of the revenue is attributable to its offshoring company Azets in Sweden. Campbell Dallas converted from a limited liability partnership (LLP) on the 20 October 2016 to become an incorporated company.