Baker Tilly Ireland has been bought by international audit, accounting, outsourcing, compliance and advisory group Azets, as the company enters the Irish market for the first time.
Baker Tilly Ireland provides a range of services, including audit and advisory, corporate finance, tax, restructuring, corporate governance and fund management, with a focus on mid-market, entrepreneurial, owner-managed and family-owned businesses.
It will rebrand as Azets Ireland with immediate effect.
Azets also operates across the Nordics and UK.
It said it picked Ireland for its expansion due to its strong trading ties and business connections with the UK, Europe and North America, buoyant SME community and resilient economy.
Azets aims to grow the firm in Ireland significantly in the next three years, and as part of its growth plans, it will embark on a recruitment drive and will enhance its presence in key regional locations around the country.
The company's investment in Ireland marks the company's tenth deal in 12 months, with more M&A activity planned across all regions as the group continues to deliver against its ambitious growth strategy.
Azets Ireland is led by Neil Hughes and is supported by a team of 100 people, including 11 partners, with a portfolio of 2,000 clients.
Now in its 100th year, it plans to continue to drive the strong legacy of advising Irish SMEs and family-owned businesses, operating out of Dublin and Enniscorthy in Co Wexford.
As part of Azets Group, Azets Ireland will also become a member of Allinial Global. With 26,000 professionals in 90 countries, Allinial Global is the second largest member-based accountancy association in the world, generating more than $4.53 billion in revenues, with over 250 member firms worldwide.
Chris Horne, Group CEO at Azets, described Ireland as the "natural choice" for international expansion, as the group accelerates its acquisitive growth strategy.
"With its membership of the EU Single Market, strong commercial ties to the UK and transatlantic links, Ireland is the main gateway to Europe in a post-Brexit environment. There are clear synergies for Azets' people and our clients from building a strong partnership with our new Irish team - and we're delighted to welcome them into the group," Mr Horne said.
"Ireland has a buoyant SME market as well as being the investment location for North American firms accessing the European markets, making it the natural choice to complement Azets' near-term expansion plans. We are excited to be partnering with Neil and the team to build a strong domestic and international advisory practice of scale," he added.
Neil Hughes, CEO of Azets Ireland, said the company has seen strong organic growth over the past five years as it continued to deepen its areas of expertise and build a team of specialists to support the evolving and changing needs of its client base.
Mr Hughes noted that the SME sector is neglected by the big six accountancy firms yet the needs and opportunities of those businesses are as valid as the needs of the multinational enterprise community.
"With the investment from Azets and the connection to this growing international services company, Azets Ireland is well positioned to advise our clients and to take advantage of the growth opportunities that this presents for our firm," he said.
"The SME sector is the backbone of the Irish economy, representing 99% of all corporates and employing more than two thirds of all private sector employees. SMEs and family-owned businesses were hit hardest by the pandemic and the economic shock of the crisis left them crying out for services that they had never needed previously," he said.
"With growing wage costs, high levels of inflation and rising interest rates, Irish SMEs are entering a period of economic uncertainty that will impact their operating margins over the coming years. This is when SMEs in Ireland will need the advice that a national firm of scale can bring," he added.
