29th August 2024 marked 10 years since the TaxAssist Group directors, along with franchisees in the UK and Ireland, the senior management team, staff within the franchisee network and long-standing external business partners bought the organisation from founder John Westgarth.
While franchise operations have been bought by their management teams before, it is believed that this was the first time a management buyout had occurred in partnership with franchisees.
Daren Moore FCCA, TaxAssist Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our current group shareholding structure, with more than 50% of shares held by franchisees, is a positive legacy of this transaction. The spirit of FaMBO lives on.
“We’re really proud of all that has been achieved by the network and the innovations we’ve launched over the last decade, with much to look back on and celebrate.
“We have seen significant growth over the last 10 years and currently have more than 270 franchise territories operating across the UK and Ireland, serving over 100,000 clients at more than 400 locations.
“Our UK network fee income has more than doubled to £61m and we are now a far larger and robust business, with a dominant position in our core markets.
“We have also been working on expanding the range of TaxAssist services our franchisees can offer to their clients. In recent years we have launched several TaxAssist-branded complementary services, including Payroll by TaxAssist, Tax Consulting by TaxAssist and Financial Planning by TaxAssist. This has changed how we can help and support TaxAssist clients, as well as providing additional income streams to our network of accountants. We’ve also recently refreshed our branding to emphasise that we can do more for clients than just accountancy and tax services.
“Our success is not just UK based. Our Irish network continues to record superb sales figures, with growth trends remaining stable and very strong. Currently their fee bank stands at 7.77 million euros, with over 7,000 clients. The TaxAssist Group also maintains an international presence in Australia, Canada and the USA.
“We have also started to build our own accounting practices. Since 2019, The TaxAssist Group, has been successfully operating a company-owned practice in central London. This experience gave us the confidence to complete a significant acquisition in 2024, taking a majority stake in the largest TaxAssist Accountants franchised practice in our network. This is the first of a small number of planned strategic acquisitions. As well as generating profit for the Group, directly owning and running franchised territories will enable us to share our experiences, refine processes and test ideas with the network so everyone can benefit.
“This is a further example of what we believe franchising is really about – it’s a partnership, where we work together to drive growth and profitability. We will always stay true to these principles.
“We know that the world around us is changing – the development of technology, impact of software and expectations of clients have all accelerated over the past decade and we expect this to continue. What hasn’t changed are the key strengths that make TaxAssist what it is today. We respond to the challenges around us and make sure we can capitalise on the opportunities we see to the benefit of all in the network.”
