East Midlands accounting firm Duncan and Toplis has won investment from private equity firm Blixt Group. The accountancy, business adviser and wealth manager, which has a dozen or so offices around the region, said it was making the deal in order to gain fresh backing to accelerate its growth plans.
Blixt is a European private equity firm headquartered in London, with access to more than €250 million of long-term institutional investor funding. It has focussed investment on the UK accounting, wealth management and legal services sectors, taking stakes in growing businesses.
Last month Blixt invested in another East Midlands business when its legal arm Lawfront acquired Nelsons.
Under the latest deal, all Duncan & Toplis board members, directors and team members will remain in their existing roles, with Adrian Reynolds continuing as managing director and Andy Severn as managing director of wealth management business Castlegate which is part of the Duncan & Toplis group.
The deal will be subject to regulatory approvals and should complete this autumn. Once approved, this investment will kick off the most ambitious period of growth and expansion in the nearly 100 year history of Duncan & Toplis, which was founded in 1925 in Nottingham before it relocating to Grantham and expanding across the East Midlands.
A spokesman said: “At the heart of the Duncan & Toplis growth strategy is the continued investment in its team, the expansion of its service proposition and the leveraging of technology to unlock new opportunities for the business’ team members, clients and communities. This will be complemented by acquisitive growth.”
Adrian Reynolds said: “The core of our culture is based on doing right by our people, our communities and our clients and this will remain so.
“Over almost a century, Duncan & Toplis has been a trusted partner to generations of people, businesses and communities and we’re always working to have a greater positive impact.
“Our new growth strategy will start the next 100 years as we mean to go on, accelerating our progress and protecting that which makes our business special, while taking it to the next level.
“Blixt is an ideal partner for us because they share our focus on culture and growth for the right reasons. They also bring incredible expertise in strategic thinking, supporting us in the direction we want to travel in, helping us further along the path and accelerating our progress.
“Fundamentally, their support means that in the next few years, we can achieve what we would have hoped to achieve in 10-plus years, and that’s very exciting.”
Blixt chief executive Carl Harring said: “We are delighted to be working with Duncan & Toplis.
“We have been impressed by the quality, track record and ambition of the business, and its exemplary commitment to both its people and its clients.
“We really look forward to partnering with the team at Duncan & Toplis and other like-minded accounting firms to help accelerate growth.”
Duncan & Toplis provides businesses and individuals with a range of services including accountancy, audit and assurance, tax and business advice, wealth management, legal services, payroll, marketing, HR, and international business services.
