RSM joins Scotland Food & Drink

Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM has become the latest member of industry body Scotland Food & Drink.

The firm, which has offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grangemouth and Lerwick, today launched a new Food and Drink team at a board meeting of Scotland Food & Drink held at RSM’s Glasgow offices in Wellington Street.

Scotland Food & Drink, established in 2007, is an independent industry organisation that works in partnership with the sector’s key trade associations and Scottish Government. Its goal is to assist food and drink companies of all sizes to achieve growth and increased profitability and to build Scotland’s reputation as a Land of Food and Drink.

The new RSM team will be led by Stuart McCallum who joined the firm last year from Clydesdale Bank, where he was Head of Food and Drink for Scotland.

The sector team will operate across all five of RSM’s Scottish offices. It will offer a variety of advisory, corporate finance and tax services to Scottish agriculture, hospitality and tourism and food and drink firms, reflecting the increasing convergence and collaboration across these vitally important sectors to the Scottish economy.

James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink said: “We are delighted to welcome RSM on board as a member of Scotland Food & Drink. Scotland has some of the best natural produce in the world, and the quality of our products is appreciated across the world. RSM’s expertise and global reach will undoubtedly be of benefit to our members who are looking to grow both in the domestic and international markets.”

Stuart McCallum, who will head RSM’s new Food and Drink team in Scotland said: “Already, around 20 per cent of our clients are involved in some way in the food and drink sector, be it agriculture, hospitality or food and drink manufacturing. We are looking forward to deepening our relationships with them and others through the Scotland Food & Drink network and to offer members the benefit of our expertise, not only in Scotland and the rest of the UK, but also in 120 countries around the world in which RSM is present.”

The Food and Drink sector contributes more than £14bn to the Scottish economy, with exports having risen over 50 per cent in the last five years, according to Scotland Food & Drink.