The sale of Elstan HR
Hilton Smythe is delighted to announce the sale of remote HR service provider Elstan HR to one of Scotland’s largest accountancy and professional services firms, Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB).
The shareholders of Elstan HR approached Hilton Smythe Business Advisers to guide them through the M&A process in April 2023, with a deal being closed just six months later.
Elstan HR, which offers integrated and outsourced HR services to clients of all sizes, came to market presenting a highly promising acquisition prospect. The organisation benefits from a highly experienced team of HR professionals, high value retained clients and excellent profit trends.
Not long after Hilton Smythe generated significant interest in Elstan HR, it was Anderson Anderson & Brown who went on to acquire the company. AAB are a tech-enabled business services group, offering audit, accounting, tax, payroll, HR, consulting and advisory solutions. The company saw in Elstan HR an opportunity to build upon its HR and people services unit and expand its footprint in South-East England.
Elstan HR also made a great culture-fit because of AAB’s ethos of people-centricity, with the former having been shortlisted for the Customer Service Award in the annual Ashford Business Awards.
Of the deal, Douglas Martin, Chief Commercial Officer at AAB, said:
“The acquisition of Elstan HR provides an exciting opportunity for AAB Group to expand the range of HR consultancy services that we can deliver for our clients, particularly integrated HR support for large SMEs and corporates.
It also serves to further enhance the AAB Group’s presence as a leading provider of HR, health and safety, and talent development services across the UK. We are delighted to welcome the Elstan team to the group and look forward to working together.”
Louise McCosh, AAB People Partner added: “This is a great strategic fit for the AAB People business unit. Not only are Elstan HR’s culture and values synergistic with the AAB Group, but this move will also provide us with a footprint to grow in London and South-East England across all the AAB People service lines.”
Hilton Smythe Deal Executive, Aidan Murphy, who has over a decade of experience in SME dealmaking, and helped to steer the deal to completion said:
“It was a pleasure to work on this deal and bring two synergistic businesses together.
Business services is a booming sector, fuelled by the record numbers of new companies being set up in the UK. Those looking to sell will be well-placed to secure interest from businesses looking to expand into new categories or client segments.”
