AAB, with offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, plans to build its market share across the Central Belt of Scotland alongside growing the number of regional hubs it operates from in key major cities across the UK.

August’s investment in AAB will facilitate “considerable investment in people, both existing and those who recognise the exciting opportunities being created across the group”, as well as allowing AAB to invest further in tech following the doubling of spend in this area during 2021.

The investment will also provide significant firepower for AAB to pursue merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities across the UK. So far this year, AAB has already merged with Glasgow-based accountancy firm Hardie Caldwell and acquired Edinburgh-based Purpose HR.

Graeme Allan, chief executive at AAB, said: “We are enjoying a fantastic period of growth but see so many opportunities to invest more heavily to fast-track this.

“August Equity’s investment will be instrumental in helping us build a high-quality regional business services group across the UK. They are also a great cultural fit and are as excited about our partnership and the future as we are.”

He added: “As we grow, we will remain committed to investing and developing our people and of course clients will benefit as we expand our portfolio of tech-enabled services for the SME and enterprise markets.

“We shall work closely with August as we actively seek M&A opportunities with a particular focus on partnering with firms who adopt a similar ethos to us driven by a passion for helping people, staff and clients alike, achieve their goals.

“This model will establish a wide equity ownership whilst maintaining the opportunity for real partner progression for the future leadership of the group.”

David Lonsdale, partner at August Equity, said: “We are delighted to be investing in AAB and we are excited to be working with Graeme and the team.

“We look forward to working together to accelerate the growth of AAB and build a leading tech-enabled, business critical services group which is highly differentiated in the market.”