CFO Solutions group Opulus has expanded east with the acquisition of George + Co, the long-established firm of Chartered Tax Advisers and Accountants based in Edinburgh’s West End.

Commenting on the acquisition, Matthew Garstang, CEO at Opulus, said: “As part of our strategic plan to spread our geographic footprint throughout Scotland, we are delighted to secure this deal which marks our entry into the east of Scotland business services market with a location in the heart of our capital city.

George + Co are a highly-regarded business comprising a team of two directors and five employees with a turnover in excess of £600,000. Under the terms of the deal, it will continue to trade under its own name and to service its clients from its office in Rutland Street, Edinburgh.”

He added: “As part of our ambitious expansion plans, this deal gives us a firm foothold in Edinburgh from where we are actively seeking to secure further acquisitions throughout the east of Scotland.”

Commenting on the deal, Linda Leaworthy, Director at George + Co, said: “We are a highly experienced team and pride ourselves on offering a professional, efficient service in all aspects of taxation and accountancy – an offering that will only be enhanced by our joining the expanding Opulus group and giving us access to a broader range of business advisory expertise.”

The acquisition marks the latest development of the growth plan set out by Opulus following its announcement in February that it had joined forces with Wylie & Bisset Accountants and Business Advisers to create a ‘hub and spoke’ model of business advisory services.

Donald McKinnon, managing partner at Wylie & Bisset, added: “As full-service accountants and business advisers, we operate as a ‘hub’ to provide a range of service lines and support to a network of regional ‘spoke’ accountancy practices within the wider Opulus group for the benefit of our clients. We are delighted to welcome George + Co to the group.”

The latest development follows previous acquisitions by Opulus of Glasgow-headquartered Nicolson Accountancy, John Kerr & Co in Saltcoats, Alexander Marshall in Motherwell and Craig Cleland in East Kilbride.

Opulus, a joint venture formed between founder Matthew Garstang and investment and advisory partnership N4 Partners to provide a range of business services to help SMEs grow, will shortly be rolling out legal, HR and IT offerings to complement its existing business service lines throughout Scotland.

SME Capital, the institution founded to provide bespoke funding for established SMEs, has provided a £10 million growth capital facility to support further expansion plans of the enlarged group.