Pictured (l-r): Ross McLauchlan
and Donald McKinnnon

The promotion of Catherine Livingstone to director with responsibility for supporting its growing owner managed businesses client base at the end of last year has now been followed by the promotion of Eilidh Templeton, Sandy Hogg and Rory McCall as managers in the firm’s corporate department.

The firm now has 11 partners and 137 staff, and plans to achieve further significant growth over the short- to medium-term.

Ross McLauchlan, recently-appointed joint managing partner, said: “The acquisition of McLellan Harris is part of a bigger picture insofar as we are actively considering other acquisition opportunities while looking to continue to grow the business organically.

“The deal, which does not involve any transfer of staff, came about through an informal meeting when Bob Harris, who happened to train me on tax when I undertook my CA training in the 1980s, mentioned his plans for retirement to our senior partner.”

Donald McKinnon, joint managing partner, said: “It marks our commitment to build upon the success we have achieved to date. Wylie & Bisset’s core strength is its independence and we are now at the start of a phase whereby we see further growth in acquisitions and organic growth, supported by the strong numbers within the business that allow us to do that.”

Welcoming the new manager appointments, Mr McLauchlan added: “These latest promotions represent the successful outcome of a marked change in our approach to staff training and development whereby members of staff displaying potential are put through a programme in advance of a planned promotion.

“That programme was initiated a year ago with significant investment in time and effort deployed in development that has enabled our three managers in the corporate department to hit the ground running and deliver an enhanced offering to our expanding SME client base.”