AAB named top dealmakers in Scotland for 11th consecutive year

The accolade marks the 11th consecutive year that AAB has held the title after again being recognised by the Scottish Business Insider every year since 2005.

The data on the Scottish deals market shows that AAB completed 47 transactions in 2015, more than double any other accountancy firm during the same period.

AAB’s 2015 deal activity was positively impacted by a significant increase in non oil & gas deals which accounted for 50 per cent of all deals completed during the year. Deals completed in 2015 included advising the management team of Macduff Shellfish in the disposal to Clearwater Seafoods, the disposal of C21 Data Services to Recall and the investment in Keenan Recycling by Business Growth Fund (BGF).

Oil & gas services remained AAB’s most active sector in 2015 although transaction activity was reduced as the “challenging market conditions” took their toll.

Oil & gas deals closed in 2015 included the disposal of Online Electronics to IK Group, the disposal of HVAC Refrigeration & Engineering to Oteac backed by Lonsdale Capital Partners and the acquisition by John Crane Group of XPD8 Solutions.

Douglas Martin, corporate finance partner, said: “We are delighted to be recognised as the top dealmakers in Scotland for an 11th consecutive year. 2015 was a difficult year for oil & gas services M&A activity but we continued to deliver strong deal flow and executed more transactions in 2015 than we did in 2014 due to a significant rise in non oil & gas deals. This fantastic milestone is testament to the hard work and dedication of our exceptionally talented team.”

In terms of the outlook for 2016, Mr Martin added: “Our transaction successes during 2015 have been very positive and our current deals pipeline remains healthy particularly in the non oil & gas space. M&A activity in oil & gas services remains curtailed but the current market conditions does present good opportunities to buy quality assets at a sensible price for those who look beyond the short term outlook. We remain positive about our prospects in the year ahead given our superb market position and look forward to bringing more deals to fruition during the remainder of 2016.”