AAB’s established Tech team is located across AAB’s offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Leeds and London, providing end-to-end finance and people solutions to tech businesses, and has become official sponsors of the HALO and the Filament Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC).

The HALO Kilmarnock is a £63 million low carbon brownfield urban regeneration project on a 23-acre site, formerly the home of Johnnie Walker, the world’s leading Scotch whisky. 

The HALO Enterprise and Innovation Centre, which opens its doors in January 2022, will create an industry leading entrepreneurial accelerator for business growth, concentrating on the green economy. The HALO is also creating a cyber and digital training learning facility that will support SMEs on The HALO trading floor, establishing The HALO at the forefront of the digital Fourth Industrial Revolution.

AAB will be the sole accountancy and HR partner for the initiative. The partnership will be focussed primarily on the HALO Enterprise Floor, a space created for Start-Ups and SMEs, where AAB’s Tech team will be providing advice to a unique entrepreneurial community full of growing businesses.

Filament STAC is an Internet of Things accelerator programme dedicated to helping ambitious Scottish start-ups grow sustainably and become competitive in a global market. The 18-month programme, which is based on successful formats in Canada, will be delivered by a team headed up by Filament STAC CEO Paul Wilson and begins in Glasgow later this month. The first cohort consists of 10 companies.

AAB’s role will be to deliver finance related coursework to the cohort companies during the STAC academic calendar, and also to provide strategic and technical guidance to the companies on a 1-2-1 basis.

Discussing the sponsorships, Ian Marshall, head of tech strategy at AAB, said: “The obvious take- away from the past 19 months is that tech, no matter how you work or who you work for, has kept the economy going, and what’s exciting is so many of these innovative tech businesses are right on our doorstep.

“We have a fantastic tech eco-system here in Scotland. Great universities producing talent, a mature investment culture and of course Scotland is a great place to live – the Scottish government’s commissioned Logan Report will also provide added impetus. We’re thrilled to be partnering with HALO and Filament STAC to ensure high-growth businesses get the financial and people support they need. Our tech team are based flexibly across Scotland and have years of sector knowledge under our belts; and thanks to our recent acquisition of a majority stake in Purpose HR, we’re able to offer even more support to these businesses.”

In addition to the partnerships with HALO and Filament STAC, AAB will also be supporting the University of Edinburgh’s AI Accelerator programme assisting the businesses with workshops and tutorials.

Lisa Thomson, CEO of Purpose HR, an AAB Group Company, added: “From day one Purpose HR has worked with Edinburgh’s early stage and high growth tech businesses to provide flexible, tailored, strategic and operational HR support to enable growth and effective business performance. The innovation hubs AAB are supporting are vital in allowing tech talent to thrive. Since joining the AAB Group, we’ve been able to offer that end-to-end solution to our clients, and we’re looking forward to meeting more exciting businesses at these hubs later in the year.”

Paul Wilson, chief executive of Filament STAC, commented: “We’re really excited to have the AAB Tech team share their knowledge and support to our first cohort. AAB understands the potential businesses in Scotland have to become main players in smart, connected devices and Internet of Things solutions. Our partnership will allow us to work together to support businesses take that next step to perform strongly and lead in the international market, and in turn create a thriving Scottish tech scene.”

Marie Macklin, founder and executive chair of the HALO, said: “It’s an exciting time for the HALO Kilmarnock as we get set to open the doors to our HALO Enterprise and Innovation Centre in January 2022.

“The HALO is 13 years in the making and we’re really pleased to be welcoming AAB on our journey to establish The HALO at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digitalisation.

“We’re setting the standard for low carbon energy sites across the UK by building a sustainable community powered by renewable energy. With a state-of-the-art environment for entrepreneurs specialising in green growth, The HALO is uniquely placed to support AAB in enhancing the support it currently provides Scotland’s high growth tech businesses.”