One of the UK’s fastest growing accountancy and professional services groups has made its first acquisition in the South as it looks to move into the sector’s ‘top 20’. DJH, which has offices in Huddersfield, Leeds and Sheffield, has joined forces with Bexley-based McBrides Chartered Accountants in a deal that springboards it into London and the South. The group will tap into McBrides’ regional presence and specialisms in guiding professional services, law firms, property businesses, shipping companies and UK subsidiaries of international companies. Tenzing-backed DJH will, in turn, provide access to dedicated teams across a range of services, including R&D tax credits, capital allowances, commercial funding, HR and IT. Existing McBrides Managing Partner Tanya Hamilton will continue to lead the business with the partner team. Scott Heath, Chief Executive Officer of DJH, explained: “It has always been our aspiration to have a substantial office in the South and the partnership with McBrides gives us an immediate presence in the region with a business that shares our values of teamwork, client service and trust. “As soon as Chief Operating Officer James Beardmore and I met Tanya and the partner team, a strong relationship developed, and we knew we could create the perfect foundations that support existing clients whilst giving us the opportunity to grow in the area.” He continued: “Together, we are edging closer to moving into the top 20 accountancy firms in the UK.” DJH, which provides audit, accounting, tax, and specialist business advisory services to businesses nationwide, combines local expertise with national reach, while maintaining personalised service at its heart. Following a series of ten acquisitions in three years, the firm has grown into a multidisciplinary team of 580 people with its Yorkshire offices being joined by ones in Altrincham, Bury, Chester, Derby, Manchester, Nantwich, Stoke-on-Trent and Walsall. The latest purchase creates further opportunities for both the DJH and McBrides teams to develop through their careers, as well as delivering growth potential for specialist service lines. Tanya Hamilton, Managing Partner at McBrides Chartered Accountants, said: “Joining DJH is a major milestone in our journey, providing an opportunity to strengthen our services, giving new and exciting opportunities for further growth, while also delivering more investment in technology as well as the training, recruitment and wellbeing of our team. “Being part of a top 40 UK accountancy firm, that shares our vision and values, is going to help us create the best possible place to work and provide further enhanced services to our clients.” Matt Nicholson, Investment Lead at Tenzing, concluded: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome everyone at McBrides to the DJH family. Finding partners with the right culture is critical for our continued growth aspirations and we are delighted Tanya, and the team have put their trust in us for the future. “This is particularly true when entering a new region, which is a major milestone for the DJH Group. We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”

Administrators for failed data centre equipment manufacturer and installer Cross-Guard Limited have made a number of redundancies after the business was placed into administration on Friday 28 March. Gareth Rusling of Begbies Traynor Group and Charles Ranby-Gorwood of CRG Insolvency & Financial were appointed joint administrators of the company by its director after the business became unviable as a going concern. Seventeen redundancies have been made at the firm’s Scunthorpe head office at Queensway Industrial Estate, with 22 staff retained to complete orders and installation contracts while the joint administrators explore any potential buyers for the goodwill and assets of the business. A spokesperson for Begbies Traynor Group said: “It is very early days, and the joint administrators are actively working through all the financial information in detail to establish and contact all of the creditors and debtors, and to understand the cause of the failure of the business, but it is already clear that the business was unviable. “Sadly, redundancies have already been forced, and more are expected once the current work in progress is completed and the contracted projects are fulfilled. More information will become available in coming days and weeks, but our responsibilities are to protect the interests of the creditors, and to manage the process of redundancy that is affecting the employees.”