Azets Wealth Management has further expanded its team following the acquisition of UK regional wealth management and chartered accountancy firm Milne Craig by Azets Group.

Milne Craig, based in Paisley near Glasgow, was founded more than 100 years ago  with an established reputation for its director-led support of private clients, family businesses, and charities in Scotland and throughout the UK.

Milne Craig’s Financial Services division was founded in 1995 and has grown to 17 Chartered advisors and support staff offering a range of financial planning services including pensions, investments, family wealth planning, corporate investment, inheritance tax planning, and other bespoke requirements.

The acquisition provides Milne Craig’s 2,000+ clients access to a greater breadth and depth of advice in the UK and internationally as part of Azets, while Azets adds more than 90 talented new colleagues to strengthen its offering across accounting, tax, audit, corporate finance, payroll, and wealth management.

Azets is an international advisory, outsourcing and compliance Group with 8,200 people supporting over 100,000 clients through its network of 189 offices across Europe. In the UK, Azets is a top ten accountancy firm and employs more than 3,800 people, with 72 offices nationwide.

Kate Brown will continue to lead Milne Craig’s Financial Planning team, which will rebrand as Azets Wealth Management.

Brown said: “I’ve been delighted to lead the development of Milne Craig’s Wealth Management offering over the past 25 years. I’m excited to continue this within Azets, a firm of significant scale that will give us great opportunities to develop our team and service offering further and remaining together with the Milne Craig colleagues in other parts of our business as we all join Azets.

"The team will continue to focus on supporting clients with their growth journey. We see clear synergies between Milne Craig and Azets and our strong focus on client service and needs in Scotland and beyond will continue.”

Mark Parkinson, CEO of Azets Wealth Management, added: “Many people at Azets and Milne Craig already know and have worked with each other over a period of many years, so we are well aware of the quality and specialist expertise our new colleagues will bring.

"From those existing relationships to the proximity of our offices in Glasgow, we immediately identified a strong cultural fit. Importantly, the services that Milne Craig offers deepens Azets’ expertise. We are thrilled to welcome Kate and the Financial Services team into Azets, marking the latest milestone on the Group’s growth journey.”

Azets was advised by Shoosmiths, led by Simon Procter (partner).