Your clients keep their accountant
No rebrand, no call centre, no "your account has moved". The firms we buy keep trading under their own name with the team clients already know.
Practice acquisitions
Sell Your Accountancy Practice in the North West
Most routes to selling a practice in the North West run through brokers in other parts of the country. We are the alternative: a Liverpool-based group that buys practices directly, keeps their name and team in place, and can sit across a table from you this week.
The North West has one of the densest small-practice communities in the UK, yet when an owner here decides to sell, the established routes all lead away from the region: national brokers, anonymised listings, and buyer databases run from offices hundreds of miles away. The region deserves a local buyer, and that is what we are.
SMB Accountancy Group is the Liverpool holding company behind Stuart McBain Ltd, Goddards Accountants, Craig Callum Associates and Keith Dodd Accountants: four North West practices that all kept their name, their people and their clients when they joined the family. That is our model, not a promise invented for this page. We bring back-office modernisation, technology and cover behind the scenes, and leave the local identity that clients actually buy from exactly where it is.
Because we are the buyer, there is no broker between us. No engagement fee, no success fee, no percentage of your sale priced into the deal, and no listing circulating your details around a database of strangers. One conversation, with the people who would actually sign, in complete confidence.
If your practice is anywhere from Carlisle to Crewe, we would like to hear about it. Tell us a little below, and we will reply personally within two working days.
Why sell to us
A direct buyer, not a broker
Your staff keep their jobs
We buy practices because of the people in them. We support the existing team without overpowering the culture and values that make clients like the firm.
No broker, no commission
We are the buyer, not a middleman. Deal with us directly and there is no listing process, no sale fee and no percentage taken off your price.
Discretion, guaranteed
Nothing reaches your staff, clients or the local grapevine until you decide it should. Early conversations are just that: conversations.
Common questions
Questions sellers ask us
How long does it take to sell an accountancy practice?
Broker guides suggest planning 12 to 24 months ahead, with due diligence alone often taking 8 to 12 weeks once a buyer is finally matched. Selling direct removes the matching stage entirely: you are talking to the buyer from the first conversation, so the only timetable is the one that suits you and the diligence a responsible purchase needs.
Do you only buy practices in Merseyside?
No. Merseyside is home and the four firms in our group are based there today, but we are actively looking across the whole North West, from Cheshire up to Lancashire, and we will consider practices in the wider UK where the size is right.
Do you buy growing firms, or just retirement sales?
Both. Some owners come to us to retire with their clients and staff in safe local hands. Others are growing and want group backing, shared back office and technology, while keeping their own name on the door. We shape the deal around which one you are.
Thank you. Your message has been received. We'll come back to you personally within two working days, and everything you've told us stays confidential.
Something went wrong. Please check the required fields and try again, or email us at hello@stuartmcbain.com.
Register your interest
A few details are enough to start; share only what you're comfortable with. We reply personally within two working days, in complete confidence.
Who reads this?
Your enquiry goes directly to the group's directors and nobody else. It is never passed to member firm staff or discussed outside that circle.
Prefer to talk?
Call 0151 709 9524 and ask for Chris, or write to hello@stuartmcbain.com and mark it confidential. Both reach the same small circle.
Selling elsewhere?
We also buy practices in: Liverpool Manchester the Wirral Southport St Helens Warrington Chester Preston East Lancashire South Cheshire