Acorn Pet Centres

It was a shared passion for cars which lead Alan Mutter to appoint Condies as his accountancy firm in 1975. Ian Condie, the firm's senior partner, was selling his car and Alan, managing director of Acorn Pet Centres was a prospective buyer. Alan had raced karts since his teens and Ian is a passionate motor racing fan. From that initial meeting Alan persuaded his parents who ran a restaurant business, to move their accounting requirements to Condies. "From the first meeting with Ian I could see that the firm was one buzzing with ideas. Condies were not just accountants but real business advisers."

When Alan decided to go into the pet business it was natural that he choose Condies as his accountancy firm. "When I decided to go into the pet business we worked with Ian on the numbers and they stacked up."

Condies were instrumental in advising Alan on his expansion plans. Acorn had realised that they were vulnerable being supplied at the time by one wholesaler so together with Condies, Alan devised a plan to set up a headquarters office and 30,000 sq ft procurement and distribution hub in Dunfermline. "It was a bold step at the time but Condies were the catalyst that led to substantial growth for the company," said Alan.

The group now has 35 stores, revenues approaching £12m and 200 employees. But it does not stop there, Alan has ambitious plans to launch another 18 "retail park" superstores within the next 12-months.

"Condies have always been innovative and forward thinking. With their help we installed an EPOS system 20 years ago, one of the first in our industry to do so. When we needed substantial funding of £3.5m again they recommended us to a bank who were sympathetic to our plans."

He concluded: "The business and personal relationships I have with Condies have been excellent. If I could find other professional firms with the same levels of professionalism and integrity I would be a very happy man!"

Visit the Specialisms - Retail page for more information on the services Condies can offer.

SM Bayne & Co. Ltd

Baynes was established in 1921 and has grown to be one of Scotland's leading chains of bakery outlets.

The company was also one of the first clients of Condies the leading chartered accountants and business advisers based in Dunfermline.

"From the very early days of the business Condies introduced a system of weekly management accounts which was very unusual at that time," said Stanley Bayne, the current managing director of the family business. "Since then I have found them to be a very progressive and innovative firm always coming up with new ideas."

The company started off with one butchers shop in Glencraig but Stanley's father spotted a gap in the market for bakery products and acquired his first bakery shop in 1954. The group now has 40 bakery outlets and two butcher shops throughout East Central Scotland and employs 380 people. One hundred and twenty employees work at the group headquarters and central bakery in Lochore, Fife.

"What I like about Condies is that they are more than pure accountants. They have become trusted business advisers who I can consult when making strategic decisions for the company," said Stanley. "For example, when building the new bakery and headquarters building they were instrumental in helping us plan the financial resources required."

He added: "Condies offers a broad range of financial services. For example, they have helped us overhaul our pension scheme and advise us on our investment portfolio. They are highly regarded by their peers within the accountancy profession and I have always found their fees to be good value for money. With some accountancy firms you tend to pay a premium simply because of who they are and I don't think they could offer any better service than we have obtained from Condies. As we go forward with our expansion strategy I am confident that Condies will be at our side supporting us."

Visit the Specialisms - Retail page for more information on the services Condies can offer.

JourneyPlan Ltd.

Testimonial from Mac Logan, CEO, JourneyPlan Ltd.

"I have known Ian Condie since the early 90's and in that time I have not met a better business adviser in the financial or commercial sector. He combines this with the highest degree of integrity which has given me huge confidence in dealing with him and his firm."

JourneyPlan is a world leader in developing technologies for PTI (Passenger Transport Information) www.journeyplan.co.uk

H&F Group

The H&F Group is one of the UK's leading drilling supplies companies. Based in Stirling the company has 30 employees and annual revenues of over £5 million.

Founded 21 years ago by Brian Farrell and John Henderson, the company has grown rapidly and now has customers world-wide. In its first year of trading the company doubled projected revenues and took on the first member of staff within a month of starting.

The firm has worked with Condies since the very beginning when George Primrose, Condies managing partner, helped them form the company and introduced them to commercial banking. The scope of work Condies carries out for the company is wide-ranging from audit and financial planning to tax, business planning and IT. In addition, Condies helped recruit and place the company's current financial controller and advised on buying a headquarters building using a pension fund.

"We have a solid partnership with Condies. I trust them implicitly and their level of responsiveness has been great," said Brian Farrell. "At each step in our business growth they have been there to help, support and guide us. I regularly recommend George and his firm to people I know would benefit from working with them."

Visit the Specialisms - Engineering page for more information on the services Condies can offer.

Matt McVicars
Previous owner of the Pitfirrane Arms Hotel

Matt McVicars has been a client of Condies, the Dunfermline based chartered accountants and business advisors, for over 35 years. Until recently he was the owner of the Pitfirrane Arms Hotel just outside Dunfermline.

After working as an air traffic controller throughout the Middle East and Europe during the 60s Matt returned to Scotland to fulfill his ambition to own a pub. He had worked in pubs and hotels when he was a student and was bitten by the hospitality bug. When an opportunity to take over the Pitfirrane Arms, a small pub near Dunfermline, came up he grabbed it with both hands.. Gradually with a lot of hard work he expanded it into a thriving hotel and restaurant business. With an eye for innovation Matt and his wife introduced the first pub lunches and discos in the region.

Each step of the way he relied on Condies to offer sound, practical financial and business advice. "Every time we expanded the business Condies were there to help put together funding proposals and support us in meetings with the bank. This back up was even more crucial during the recession in the 90s when interest rates went through the roof. We had purchased a second hotel and the financial pressure was on. Condies helped us cope and successfully survive the lean times and make the most of the good times," said Matt.

The Pitfirrane was one of the first hotels in Scotland to computerise its accounts and bookkeeping. "Condies helped us put IT systems in place which organised our bookkeeping, payroll and administration leaving us free to focus on our core business of running the hotel."

Matt added: "I believe the benefit of working with such a long-established firm is that they can take a long-term view. Their local knowledge and specific experience of the hospitality trade was invaluable in helping me make key business decisions during the lifetime of the business. The recessions of the 90s presented some very challenging issues but Condies continued to offer support and encouragement throughout."

As Matt began to think about retirement Condies were on hand with valuable guidance. "Selling a business is not just about price, there are many other factors such as timing and there are many ways in which a selling price can be arrived at. Condies certainly made the negotiations between ourselves and the potential vendors much easier and we were able to come to an amicable agreement. The fact that their advice is unbiased and independent helped me decide which purchaser to go with. They had a good idea of what similar businesses had gone for in the local area and therefore helped maximise our final figure."

David Terms, partner at Condies said: "Clients like Matt who work closely with their accountants are the ones we can help most. We value the close relationship we have had with Matt and his family over many years."

He added: "Whilst we have shared the pain during the lean years it has been very satisfying to see his carefully laid plans come to fruition in recent years. As a firm we believe in working in partnership with our clients and trying to add value beyond simply 'keeping the books right'. I like to think it was this way with Matt."

Visit the Specialisms - Licensed Trade page for more information on the services Condies can offer.