Scottish accountancy firm, EQ has today (5th June 2024) announced a merger with Grangemouth-based firm Yates & Co. The move closely follows EQ’s merger with Douglas Home & Co last month, its first deal as part of Sumer Group who have ambitious growth plans to become the UK’s leading SME national practice.
Yates & Co’s rebrand brings EQ’s total locations to 11 offices, across Scotland and into Northern England, with 222 staff providing a range of accounts, taxation, business advisory and support services.
Established by David Yates in 1994, Yates & Co has developed a strong reputation in Central Scotland and beyond, particularly for their specialist knowledge of the construction, engineering, retail and IR35 sectors.
EQ joined the Sumer Group earlier this year, providing the funds to execute an ambitious growth plan to triple turnover from £11 million to £30 million. This new partnership is a key move in extending EQ’s reach into Central Scottish location, as they champion smaller and medium sized businesses.
Craig Nicol, CEO at EQ Accountants, said: “We’ve been considered in our growth strategy, carefully selecting firms in key locations that share EQ’s ethos and approach. The team at Yates & Co embody unwavering commitment to their people and client service, aligning perfectly with our values and standards.
EQ has built a very strong reputation in the East of Scotland and we’re looking forward to building on that reputation and our reach into Central Scotland as our teams become stronger with Yates & Co.
“However, it’s not just our geographical reach – the prospect of new opportunities is incredibly exciting. Yates & Co’s extensive experience in biosciences is particularly appealing as we seek to broaden our expertise into additional sectors.”
David Yates, Managing Director at Yates & Co. said: “With three decades of industry experience, Yates & Co has built an incredibly strong client base and so it was crucial to us that any potential merger was with a firm that both our own team and our clients could trust completely. We’ve entered this partnership with great enthusiasm about new opportunities, building on our commitment to always offer our clients the best possible advice and service.”
