Moore & Smalley buys practice in Southport

ACCOUNTANTS and business advisers Moore and Smalley has boosted its regional presence with the acquisition of Southport practice Hollows Davies Crane .

The acquisition of HDC, which employs nine staff, takes Moore and Smalley’s number of locations to six. It 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 the deal.

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.

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 Institute of Chartered Accountants.