The two firms have been rebranded as BK Plus and nearly 100 professional staff will join the group as part of the deal. Cornerstone is based in Glasgow and FourM in Dundee, and both offices will be retained, giving BK Plus a strong Scottish base.

BK Plus said ‘this latest move underscores our commitment to delivering tailored services to businesses in Scotland and across the UK, while staying true to our ethos of local people delivering local services’.

In the three years since BK Plus was set up by David Baldwin and Shaun Knight, the group has expanded to 25 offices and nearly 500 staff, demonstrating significant growth supported by a significant minority shareholding from private equity investment firm Palatine in October 2023. BK Plus reported fee income of £8.5m for financial year end 2023, up more than 30% on the previous year, with profit of £709,656.