This equates to a 75% uplift in value when compared to last year and an increase of 228% when compared with pre-pandemic levels.

The Scottish team has advised on a range of high-profile deals in 2021. The specialist Scottish Financial Services team advised Oaktree Capital on their $140m acquisition of Sanlam Wealth, Mattioli Woods plc on the purchase of Ludlow Wealth Management and Independent Wealth Planners on over 10 transactions.

The team has also advised on a number of Scottish deals, including the sale of Axios Systems plc to IFS; Circularity Capital’s investment in P2i Limited; the acquisition of Roylance Pharma by US client Infinity BiologiX and the Aim listings of Calnex plc and Parsley Box plc.

Following a record year, RSM has also invested locally in senior talent with the appointments of partners: Alan Brown (Restructuring) and James Strang (Tax).

Nationally the RSM UK corporate finance practice has acted on over 240 deals this year, with a combined value of £4.1bn across the UK – showcasing a record year for the corporate finance practice.

Angela Toner, transactions partner at RSM UK, said: “After a bumper Q1 when the threat of capital gains tax increases accelerated deals activity, deal volumes and values have remained high throughout 2021 due to the continued ambition of private equity investors and low cost of capital for corporates.

“Activity in the Scottish market remains strong, and I am delighted that our dedicated Financial Services transactions team in Scotland is now well established as a key adviser to high profile consolidators in the very active Wealth Management sector.

“With high levels of liquidity in the market and continued low-interest rates, the level of cash in the market will continued to drive strong levels of M&A activity into the New Year. However, resource constraints across the advisory sector are what is holding back the industry. Expert services such as data analytics, financial modelling and due diligence remain in high demand, and buyers will need to continue to factor capacity issues into deal planning throughout 2022.”