Partner Article

Rowlands Group in acquisition of The Alnwick Accountants

North East accountancy firm The Alnwick Accountants Limited has become part of the North East’s largest independent accountancy practice Rowlands, expanding its coverage further North and increasing its total number of practices in the region to seven.

Rowlands’ partners Andrew Little and Dawn Walton will head up the office in the Northumberland market town, which will retain its name as The Alnwick Accountants Limited, together with its small firm, client focused culture and ethos.

The Alnwick Accountants Limited practice has operated in the town as a chartered accountant and business advisor for over 35 years. Directors John Spowart and Fiona Robson have taken the opportunity to reduce their time in the office and chose Rowlands as their preferred firm to run the business due to the synergies in the way they run the firms and the strong communications both enjoy with their clients.

Andrew is a chartered accountant and licensed insolvency practitioner with more than 25 years’ experience in practice and industry. He also specialises in business turnaround and recovery. Dawn is a chartered accountant and chartered tax advisor who began her career in a small practice and is looking forward to returning to general accountancy practice.

All existing staff at The Alnwick Accountants Limited are remaining with the firm and clients can expect to deal with them on a day to day basis as usual.

The Alnwick Accountants Limited office is the Rowlands Group’s most northerly base, meaning the group can truly service the needs of clients from the Tweed to the Humber and provide an even stronger service throughout Northumberland.

The firm Rowlands, which has been providing accountancy, business advice, restructuring and insolvency expertise for 90 years, operates from offices in Hexham, Ponteland, Sunderland, Crook, Yarm and Chester-le-Street.

Rowlands’ Andrew Little said: “It will be very much business as usual for The Alnwick Accountants Limited.

“The deal came from a conversation with like-minded people who were looking to exit their business in a controlled way. John and Fiona thought Dawn and I were a good fit and the negotiations went from there.

“Whilst service will continue as normal, clients can also expect added value from being associated with Rowlands and the depth of experience that a larger firm can add.”

John Spowart said: “We had been looking at ways in which we could spend less time on a day to day basis in our business but were conscious that we needed to find the right people to run The Alnwick Accountants Limited.

“During this process we were fortunate enough to find Rowlands, who share the same core values and aspirations as us. We are delighted to be welcoming Rowlands partners Andrew Little and Dawn Walton to lead the business.”

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