Moore and Smalley acquires Southport firm

Accountancy and business advisory firm, Moore and Smalley, has acquired Southport accountancy firm Hollows Davies Crane in a move that extends its geographic reach to cover South Lancashire and Merseyside.

[caption id="attachment_26365" align="f-align-medium-right f-align-center" width="230"] Graham Gordon[/caption]

The acquisition of Hollows Davies Crane, which employs nine staff, takes Moore and Smalley’s number of locations to six. The firm already has offices in Preston, Blackpool, Lancaster, Kendal, and Nottingham.

Hollows Davies Crane’s two partners, Simon Bond and Michael Lowe, will continue to work with the firm and all of its staff will remain in Southport following their transfer to Moore and Smalley.

Graham Gordon, managing partner of Moore and Smalley, said: “Hollows Davies Crane has a strong tradition of client service and has advised many of its clients over a long period of time, a characteristic that’s also a core value of Moore and Smalley’s.

“We look forward to welcoming Hollows Davies Crane’s staff to Moore and Smalley and I am confident we will continue to offer its clients the excellent levels of service they are used to. This acquisition creates an enlarged organisation with a bigger geographical footprint, creating opportunities for further expansion, as well as more career development opportunities for our staff.”

Moore and Smalley partner James Treadwell will join the new Southport office, based at Hoghton Chambers on Hoghton Street, working with Simon and Michael to ensure continuity for clients.

James added: “The culture of both firms is very similar, as are the sectors we work in. Southport and the wider South West Lancashire area are home to some outstanding businesses and we feel we can be a trusted partner to those businesses and assist them as they grow.”

Hollows Davies Crane was created in 2001 by the merger of Hollows and Co and Davies and Crane. It has a broad mix of clients from owner-managed businesses to large corporate across the region. Davies and Crane can trace its history back to 1874 and founder Thomas Crane was also founder member of the ICAEW. Simon Bond’s family have been involved in the firm since around 1900.