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 Southport
We are not guessing at what a Southport practice is like: Keith Dodd Accountants, a member of our group, has served the town from Hillside for more than two decades. If you run a practice in Southport or anywhere in Sefton and are thinking about your exit, we are the most local buyer you will find.
Southport's practices have a particular character: long-standing, personal, and often run by an owner who has been the town's trusted answer to tax season for thirty years. When that owner starts thinking about retirement, the question is rarely just price; it is what happens to the clients on Lord Street and the staff who have been there half their working lives.
We can answer that question with evidence rather than assurances. Keith Dodd Accountants joined the SMB family in August 2026 and continues to serve Southport from Hillside as itself: same practice, same personal service, now with a group behind it for the back-office load. That is the model we would bring to your firm too.
Selling to us is a private, direct conversation. No broker, no commission, no anonymised advert in a listings portal that half the town could guess was you. You tell us about the practice in confidence, we respond personally within two working days, and nothing moves faster than you want it to.
From Birkdale and Ainsdale to Formby, Crosby and the wider Sefton coast, if retirement or succession is starting to occupy your thoughts, start the conversation below.
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
I want to retire. How long would I need to stay on after selling?
Published guides suggest a typical handover of three to six months, sometimes with consultancy beyond that. With us it is genuinely your choice: some owners want a clean break at completion, others prefer easing out over a year or keeping a part-time role. Because the buyer and the plan are agreed together from day one, the handover is designed around your retirement, not bolted on after a broker's matching process.
I am a sole practitioner. Is that a problem?
Not at all; it is common in Southport and we like it. A sole practitioner's clients are loyal to a person, which is why our approach matters: we keep the practice local and recognisable, introduce your clients properly at your pace, and make sure nobody feels handed off to a call centre.
What does it cost me to sell to you?
Nothing in fees to us. We are the buyer, so there is no broker commission, no engagement fee and no listing charge anywhere in the process. Your only costs are your own independent legal and tax advisers, which we would positively encourage you to instruct.
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.
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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: the North West Liverpool Manchester the Wirral St Helens Warrington Chester Preston East Lancashire South Cheshire