Scottish professional services group Wbg has acquired Dunedin Advisory, a Glenrothes-based insolvency and business restructuring practice, expanding its capacity to advise companies and individuals under financial pressure. The transaction adds 11 employees to Wbg’s restructuring team, taking the function’s headcount to 33. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
Dunedin was founded in 2009 and became employee-owned in 2020. It works with businesses and individuals on insolvency, debt management, restructuring, succession and other financial challenges, with a focus on eastern Scotland. Employee ownership forms part of the acquired company’s history, but the statement does not explain the detailed treatment of its ownership arrangements following completion. That should not be filled in by assumption.
Wbg says the enlarged operation includes five insolvency practitioners and combined annual restructuring revenue of around £4m. These figures describe the practice’s existing scale rather than additional income created immediately by the deal. The acquisition extends specialist capability in a market where companies may need advice on cash flow, creditor negotiations, refinancing or formal insolvency procedures.
The buyer has a broader workforce of approximately 190 people across an eight-office network in the UK and Ireland, according to its announcement. It reports fee income of £16m and more than 8,000 clients. Management is pursuing a longer-term objective of £50m in fee income through both organic expansion and further acquisitions. That figure is an ambition, not a current revenue level or a guaranteed target for any specific year.
Wbg and Dunedin have previously worked for Accountant in Bankruptcy, the Scottish Government executive agency, through contracts covering insolvency services. That experience gives the two teams knowledge of a common public-sector client and the legal processes governing insolvency work in Scotland. Integrating their professional services operations will involve managing cases and client relationships across Wbg’s wider network.
Restructuring is a specialised part of the professional services market. Companies may require advice before they become insolvent, including options for renegotiating debts, disposing of assets or reorganising operations. Other assignments involve formal appointments carrying statutory duties and obligations to creditors. A larger practice can offer additional capacity, but conflicts of interest and professional independence remain important when teams share clients or take on assignments across different sectors.
For Wbg, the acquisition adds experienced practitioners and a geographic presence in the east of Scotland. Those benefits depend on retaining key staff, transferring relationships and integrating administrative systems without disrupting ongoing engagements. A professional services deal is different from buying a portfolio of physical assets: much of the acquired value is associated with people, reputation and recurring instructions.
Market conditions may create demand for restructuring advice as businesses face financing costs, tax obligations and operational pressures. However, growing demand for a specialist practice should not be interpreted as an objective forecast of insolvencies across Scotland. The relationship between financial stress, informal turnaround and formal insolvency is complex, and some interventions are intended specifically to prevent businesses entering statutory procedures.
The group’s wider acquisition strategy raises a question about maintaining consistent standards as offices and teams expand. Client onboarding, case management, professional indemnity arrangements, cybersecurity and supervision need to operate reliably across locations. Economies of scale may be possible in administrative systems, but professional judgement and local business knowledge remain central to many engagements.
The Dunedin acquisition brings 11 people into Wbg and increases its restructuring team to 33, including five licensed insolvency practitioners. Wbg says the combined restructuring operation has approximately £4m in annual revenue. The enlarged group will provide turnaround, debt and insolvency advice through the company’s wider UK office network, adding Dunedin’s experience in eastern Scotland to an existing national practice. Dunedin was founded in 2009 and became employee-owned in 2020, while Wbg has been building a wider accounting and professional services business through organic growth and acquisitions.
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