Tughans has advised leading Irish independent accountancy and business advisory firm FPM, on its merger with Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), the tech enabled business critical services group, to fast track ambitious growth plans and create a significant regional presence across the UK and Ireland.

 

FPM is an independent audit, accounting, tax and business advisory firm with revenue of c£9.5m and a team of over 120 people across 5 office locations in Belfast, Balbriggan (Dublin North), Newry, Dungannon and Mallusk. The 9 FPM shareholder directors are all remaining in their current roles and will continue to drive the growth of FPM as part of the AAB Group.

 

AAB Group has grown rapidly in the last 12 months, following 3 M&A transactions and investment from August Equity in October 2021. FPM’s complementary geographic presence will further enhance the wider AAB Group as a key player in the UK & Irish accountancy and business services markets, adding Ireland to its other regional hubs across Scotland and England. The merger with FPM is another major step forward in AAB’s growth journey as it becomes a group with £50M+ revenue and 550+ team members in 10 offices across the UK and Ireland.

 

The cross departmental Tughans team was led by Corporate Partner, John McGuckian with support from Aimee Craig (Corporate), Douglas Anderson (Banking & Financing), and Patricia Rooney (Employment).

 

Commenting on the deal, Tughans Partner John McGuckian said: “It was a pleasure to advise our valued client FPM on its merger with AAB; a move which will enable FPM to  do even more for their clients, wherever they wish to do business across the world. This deal demonstrates that Tughans continues to be market-leaders in M&A for the accountancy and business advisory sector in Northern Ireland.”

 

Commenting on the deal, FPM Managing Director, Feargal McCormack said: “The importance of getting a merger right cannot be overstated, and Tughans were the perfect partner to walk us through this complex process. John and his team guided us seamlessly through the merger, and their 24/7 availability and attention to detail across a number specialisms was par excellence, ensuring we continue to deliver service excellence for our clients for many years to come.”