SMH Group, a professional services firm with offices across Yorkshire and Derbyshire, has merged with Rotherham accountancy practice Parkins, which will now trade as SMH Parkins, a deal that matters broadly because it gives SMH two offices in Rotherham, and matters specifically to accountancy professionals because it shows a long-established family practice keeping its team, office and client relationships while gaining access to wider financial services.

SMH Group is a Derbyshire-headquartered accountancy and financial services group offering accountancy, audit, tax, corporate finance, mortgages, and wills and probate from offices including Sheffield, Chesterfield, Leeds and Buxton.

Parkins is a Wickersley chartered accountancy practice with roots dating to 1967, led by partner Robert Parkin, serving businesses and individuals in Rotherham and across South Yorkshire.

Cortus and CMP Legal acted for SMH Group, while MD Law acted for Parkins.

Robert Parkin, partner at Parkins, said clients will keep dealing with the same people from the same office while the firm gains broader expertise and additional resources. Jonathon Dickens, chief executive of SMH Group, said Rotherham is an important part of the group’s regional presence and that two offices in the town let it support businesses and individuals with a wider range of expertise.

The model is deliberate rather than opportunistic. SMH has expanded through a series of acquisitions since a 2017 management buy-out, growing by 2023 from 25 staff and three offices to more than 120 employees across eight offices, without the private equity backing behind many UK platforms.

Independent coverage describes the same approach. The group is building a broader regional platform while retaining local offices and client relationships, and the SMH Parkins name follows its pattern of attaching the group name to each practice’s existing identity.

Continuity matters commercially, because clients of long-established practices value familiar contacts and retaining the team lowers attrition risk.

The broader range is the incentive: mortgages, probate and corporate finance can be offered to existing clients without referral.

For the sector, the merger shows that management-led regional groups are competing for family practices on continuity and breadth, offering an alternative to private equity platforms and international networks.

Source: International Accounting Bulletin / Dealroom / Mason Thomas Law / TheBusinessDesk.com