The RSM Tenon accountancy brand completely disappeared from Bristol this week following the acquisition of the firm’s trading operations by rival Baker Tilly.
All 35 former RSM Tenon offices across the UK have been rebranded as Baker Tilly. RSM Tenon had already wound down its Bristol operation – closing its office in the city more than 18 months ago and replacing it with a much smaller presence in a serviced office in Clifton. Some Bristol staff were relocated to its Swindon or Reading offices while others left the firm.
The Baker Tilly/RSM Tenon merger has created the UK’s seventh largest accountancy firm with annual revenues of £350m, and more than 4,000 partners and staff working across more than 50 offices.
Baker Tilly’s Bristol office in Victoria Street is unaffected by the merger. Baker Tilly will be operating in a regional structure comprised of six regions – London, Midlands, Scotland, South, North East and Yorkshire, and North West.
Baker Tilly national managing partner Laurence Longe said: “The process of fully integrating the two firms will take some time, but this rebranding exercise is an important first step in establishing the Baker Tilly brand as one of the largest accountancy firms in the UK.
“Combining the strengths and skills of both firms allows us to expand and strengthen our offering to existing and prospective clients, and provides us with new opportunities for growth.
“While this merger significantly increases Baker Tilly’s national presence, we will remain focused on our core base of owner-managed businesses, smaller listed companies and public sector clients, and we are determined to retain a local touch.”
Baker Tilly also has a small office in Bath – the result of its 2010 merger with Robson Taylor.
RSM Tenon was formed from the merger of the Tenon Group with RSM Bentley Jennison in December 2009. The firm’s parent company entered administration in August after it failed to renegotiate its banking covenants. Joint administrators at Deloitte immediately sold the trading entities to Baker Tilly in a pre-pack deal.
